Schooling and Cohort Size: Evidence from Vietnam, Thailand, Iran and Cambodia

Abstract

Abstract In many developing countries, the annual number of births has reached a peak in recent years and has declined since that time. We investigate how the schooling that individuals complete responds to the changes in the number of potential labor market competitors implied by changes in the annual number of births. We use census data from Vietnam, Thailand, Iran and Cambodia and document a similar pattern in all of them: holding other characteristics constant, individuals born during the upswing of the demographic cycle complete less schooling than individuals born during the downswing of the demographic cycle. Our estimates suggest that individuals' schooling choices mitigate the possibly adverse economic effects of the demographic cycle. For developing countries that are at earlier phases of the demographic transition, our study lets us predict schooling levels as the demographic transition moves forward.