S4 Ep47: Pensions and fertility in Namibia

In this episode of VoxTalks Economics, Tim Phillips interviews Pauline Rossi about her research on the link between pensions and fertility rates in Namibia. Rossi explains how a natural experiment following the end of apartheid, with the introduction of a universal pension system, allowed her to study the impact of social security on family size. The study found that increased pension coverage led to a reduction in fertility, particularly in families who previously had limited social protection. Rossi discusses the implications of these findings for economic development in Africa, suggesting that social security can play a role in reducing reliance on children for old age support and influencing fertility decisions.