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α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
The birth of children often shifts the balance of power within a family. If family decisions are made according to the welfare function of the spouses, this shift in power might cause a time-consistency problem. In a model of cooperative family decision-making, we show that this problem can lead to a systematic downward bias in fertility. By keeping fertility low, spouses mitigate the ex ante undesired shift in the balance of power that results from the presence of children. This provides scope for welfare-enhancing policy intervention. We discuss to what extent existing family policy measures are suitable for overcoming the bias.