Religion and fertility: The French connection

Usual microeconometric studies of the French fertility su¤er from the lack of data on religion. Indeed, the French laws make it very di¢ cult to collect data on the individual’s religious a¢ liation. However, recent studies tend to validate the important role played by culture and especially religion in fertility behaviors. This paper proposes a microeconometric investigation of the French fertility where religion is taken into account. As a result, to be Catholic has no signi…cant e¤ect on fertility and considering oneself as a believer does also not matter. However, to be a practicer, whatever the measure that is chosen, has always a positive and signi…cant impact on expected fertility. This paper also validates usual predictions of family economics. The income of male has a positive impact on the female fertility while the female income has a negative impact on women’s fertility. Moreover, the school attainment of women has a negative impact on their expected number of children. Finally, in line with recent studies of Adserá [2006] ; Fernandez & Fogli [2007], BraenasGarza & Neuman [2006], etc., the present paper reconciles the beckerian analysis of fertility behaviors and the idea that non economical factors, namely culture, are hugely important in fertility choices. JEL Codes: J11, J13, Z12