Page 136 - IJPS-11-5

International Journal of
Population Studies Regional disparities and fertility rates

investments, should be designed to prevent further Investigation: Kyungjae Lee
regional imbalances and support sustainable population Methodology: All authors
distribution. In addition, measures that improve Writing – original draft: Kyungjae Lee
access to employment, housing, and public services in Writing – review & editing: Seongwoo Lee
underdeveloped areas can help create an environment
more conducive to family formation. A comprehensive Ethics approval and consent to participate
policy framework that prioritizes regional equity and Not applicable.
inclusive economic growth is necessary to ensure that
development benefits all regions and contributes to long- Consent for publication
term demographic stability.
Not applicable.
Despite the scholarly and policy contributions of the
primary research findings, several limitations should be Availability of data
acknowledged. While this study examined the relationship Data supporting this study are available from the
between economic growth, regional disparities, and fertility corresponding author upon reasonable request.
rates, it did not fully account for the mechanisms through
which these factors influence fertility. Future research Further disclosure
should explore mediating factors such as income effects,
housing affordability, labor market stability, and childcare This paper is to be presented at the 2025 Western Regional
policies. Another limitation is the spatial unit of analysis, as Science Association (WRSA) Annual Meeting on February
this study focuses on metropolitan-level disparities, while 13, 2025, at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort in Henderson,
previous research suggests that municipal-level differences Nevada, USA.
may be more significant. Prior studies indicate that GRDP
disparities are more pronounced at the municipal level References
than at the metropolitan level (Kim, 2021). Therefore, Angrist, J.D., & Pischke, J.S. (2009). Mostly Harmless
conducting the analysis at the municipal level could Econometrics: An Empiricist’s Companion. Princeton, NJ:
provide a more detailed understanding of the relationship Princeton University Press.
between fertility rates, economic growth, and regional Anselin, L., Gallo, J.L., & Jayet, H. (2008). Spatial panel
disparities. Furthermore, methodologically, establishing econometrics. In: Mátyás, L., & Sevestre, P. (eds). The
a causal link between economic growth and fertility Econometrics of Panel data: Fundamentals and Recent
remains challenging. Although spatial panel models were Developments in Theory and Practice. Berlin, Germany:
used, potential endogeneity issues persist, including the Springer, p.625-660.
possibility of reverse causality. Addressing these limitations Barro, R.J., & Becker, G.S. (1989). Fertility choice in a model of
would enhance the understanding of the complex dynamics economic growth. Econometrica, 57(2):481-501.
between economic conditions and fertility trends.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1912563
Acknowledgments Beck, U. (1999). World Risk Society. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
None. Bertinelli, L., & Black, D. (2004). Urbanization and growth.
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Funding
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2004.03.003
This research was supported by the National Bhattacharyya, A.K. (1975). Income inequality and fertility:
Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea through the A comparative view. Population Studies (Cambridge),
Mid-Career Researcher Program (Project Number: 29(1):5-19.
2024S1A5A2A01021329), funded by the Korean
government (Ministry of Science and ICT). https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.1975.10410181
Box, G.E.P., Jenkins, G.M., & Reinsel, G.C. (2008). Time Series
Conflict of interest Analysis: Forecasting and Control. 4 ed. Hoboken, NJ:
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The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Wiley.
Brée, S., & Doignon, Y. (2022). Decline in fertility in Paris: An
Author contributions intraurban spatial analysis. Population, Space and Place,
Conceptualization: Seongwoo Lee 28(6):e2550.
Formal analysis: Kyungjae Lee https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2550

Volume 11 Issue 5 (2025) 130 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.8157