Are fertility decisions in Turkey affected by infant mortality and income?

Yilmaz Ö., SOYTAŞ U.

IKTISAT ISLETME VE FINANS, vol.27, no.310, pp.39-52, 2012 (SSCI) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 27 Issue: 310
  • Publication Date: 2012
  • Doi Number: 10.3848/iif.2012.310.3182
  • Journal Name: IKTISAT ISLETME VE FINANS
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)
  • Page Numbers: pp.39-52
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the relation between infant mortality rates, fertility rates, and income in an emerging economy, namely Turkey We use infant mortality fertility rates, and per capita Gross Domestic Product data for utilizing Toda and Yamamoto procedure for an analysis different from previous studies. The fertility and infant mortality rates are found to be related in the literature. However, for a developing country, like Turkey, we found neutrality between the two rates. Our results provide evidence in favor of a negative link between per capita real income and fertility rates. However, higher income levels seem to be improving the forecasts of infant mortality rates. This may have implications for future research.