Poverty, Vulnerability and Family Size: Evidence from the Philippines

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This paper shows how large family size can be an important contributor to household poverty. It presents results from recent research by the author using nationally representative household survey data that demonstrate clearly how large family size can contribute to poverty and vulnerability through its impact on household savings, labor supply, and parental earnings and education of children. The paper is the most systematic attempt to date to show the links between family size and poverty in the Philippines using household survey data. The clear implication of the results is that, in the case of the Philippines, an active population policy aimed at restricting family size could have an important impact on poverty reduction.