Day, Creina2022-05-100004-9018http://hdl.handle.net/1885/264723This article presents a model of household fertility and child-rearing choice in which rising female relative wages is the mechanism whereby economic growth may reverse fertility decline. I find that an increase in the logarithm, rather than the level, of wages affects fertility at advanced stages of development. Economic growth may reverse fertility decline beyond a threshold logarithm per capita output, which depends on child-care prices, maternity pay, preference for children and growth in female wages relative to male wages. These results inform the recent empirical debate and identify cross-country differences as important considerations for future empirical research.application/pdfen-AU© 2016 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research Published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd201610.1111/1467-8462.121482020-12-27