Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Special Issue
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Follow JHR on Bluesky
Research ArticleArticles

Agricultural Productivity and Fertility Rates: Evidence from the Oil Palm Boom in Indonesia

Esther Gehrke and Christoph Kubitza
Published online before print December 08, 2021, 0520-10905R1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0520-10905R1
Esther Gehrke
Esther Gehrke is an Assistant Professor at Wageningen University and Research, Agricultural Economics and Rural Policy, Hollandse Weg 1, 6706KN Wageningen, The Netherlands
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
Christoph Kubitza
Christoph Kubitza is a Research Fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Neuer Jungfernstieg 21, 20354 Hamburg, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

We analyze the link between agricultural productivity growth and fertility rates, using the oil palm boom in Indonesia as an empirical setting. We find consistent negative effects of oil palm expansion on fertility during the period 1996-2016. This finding appears to be linked to rising farm profits that led to consumption growth, an expansion of the non-agricultural sector, increasing wage returns to education and higher school enrollment. Together, these findings suggest that agricultural productivity growth can play an important role in accelerating the fertility transition, as long as the economic benefits are large enough to translate into local economic development.

JEL Classification:
  • J13
  • O13
  • O14
  • Q10

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
Next
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources: 60 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 May 2025
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Agricultural Productivity and Fertility Rates: Evidence from the Oil Palm Boom in Indonesia
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
Agricultural Productivity and Fertility Rates: Evidence from the Oil Palm Boom in Indonesia
Esther Gehrke, Christoph Kubitza
Journal of Human Resources Dec 2021, 0520-10905R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0520-10905R1

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Agricultural Productivity and Fertility Rates: Evidence from the Oil Palm Boom in Indonesia
Esther Gehrke, Christoph Kubitza
Journal of Human Resources Dec 2021, 0520-10905R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0520-10905R1
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Heterogeneous Returns to Active Labour Market Programs for Indigenous Populations
  • Leadership & Gender Composition in Managerial Positions
  • The Impact of Paid Family Leave on Families with Health Shocks
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • J13
  • O13
  • O14
  • Q10
UW Press logo

© 2025 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire