Title: The baby boom and World War II
Description: "We argue that one major cause of the U.S.  postwar baby boom was the increased demand for female labor during World War II.  We develop a quantitative dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous fertility and female labor-force participation decisions.  We use the model to assess the long-term implications of a one-time demand shock for female labor, such as the one experienced by American women during wartime mobilization.  For the war generation, the shock leads to a persistent increase in female labor supply due to the accumulation of work experience.  In contrast, younger women who turn adult after the war face increased labor-market competition, which impels them to exit the labor market and start having children earlier.  In our calibrated model, this general-equilibrium effect generates a substantial baby boom followed by a baby bust, as well as patterns for age-specific labor-force participation and fertility rates that are consistent with U.S data"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.