Quasi-experimental evidence for the causal link between fertility and subjective well-being
利用偏好子女性别混合的准实验变异，基于35个发展中国家的大样本，发现生育孩子能提升母亲的生活满意度和幸福感，原因在于家庭生活、友谊和他人对待的满意度提高。
Abstract This article presents causal evidence on the impact of fertility on women’s subjective well-being using quasi-experimental variation due to preferences for a mixed sibling sex composition (having at least one child of each sex). Based on a large sample of women from 35 developing countries, I find that having children increases mothers’ life satisfaction and happiness. I further establish that the positive impact of fertility on subjective well-being can be explained by related increases in mothers’ satisfaction with family life, friendship, and treatment by others.