Balancing Act: Addressing Child Quantity-Quality Trade-off in the Philippine Households With Educational and Health Social Programs

The child quantity-quality (CQQ) trade-off has been extensively studied in economic research since it was first introduced by Becker and Lewis in 1973. Studies have argued that the current economic circumstances and the presence of government aid in education and health determine the existence and extent of the CQQ trade-off. However, there is a dearth of empirically tested research on the possible decreasing effects of social programs on the CQQ trade-off. Using the 2019 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey, this paper seeks to determine the effect of education and health social programs on the CQQ trade-off in the Philippines. Probit models were employed to determine the existence of the CQQ trade-off in the Philippines and whether or not the said social programs increase child quality. Particularly, children’s quantity was measured by the number of children per household, and quality was measured by age-appropriate grade-level attainment. Results were then compared to an ordinary least squares model that estimated child quantity to determine if educational and health programs decrease the trade-off. Findings have shown that the CQQ trade-off still exists in the Philippines. Educational and health social programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) both increase the quantity and quality of children, implying that they reduce the CQQ trade-off. Notably, despite the positive effects of social programs on both aspects of children, the CQQ trade-off has not been virtually eliminated in the Philippines, differing from countries where sustained and advanced social programs have significantly diminished the trade-off, possibly due to inconsistencies in program implementation.