Lecture Title: Understanding Today's Fertility Issues: Young Couples' Expectations About Fertility Consequences

Speaker: Lu Kelin, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Time: April 16, 2026, 09:30

Location: Room 319 of the School

Organizer: Wuhan University Health Economics and Management Research Center

Abstract:

Fertility decisions are forward-looking and jointly made by couples. Existing research rarely focuses on how young couples perceive impacts of having children. This study surveys 1,800 Chinese couples with one child, exploring their second-child fertility plans and expectations about life outcomes under different fertility choices, covering consumption, wages, time burden,and eldercare support. Research identifies dominant factors influencing second-child fertility intentions. Policy simulations suggest providing public childcare services is more effective; children's eldercare value mainly manifests in caregiving support when parents' health deteriorates. Results indicate understanding today's fertility issues requires direct evidence about beliefs and trade-offs shaping current generation's fertility decisions.

Speaker Introduction:

Lu Kelin, Lecturer at Huazhong University of Science and Technology Economics School. Undergraduate graduated from Beijing Normal University in 2018, Ph.D. in Economics from Indiana University Bloomington (USA) in 2023. Main research interests include macroeconomics, labor economics, and behavioral economics. Papers published

in Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, and Quarterly Journal of Economics. Leads National Natural Science Foundation Youth Project.

School Lecture Registration URL: //phd.avtb10.com/elms/