Impact of Children on Household Savings in the Philippines

Abstract

Household savings are important indicators of family welfare, not only in terms of a household's investment and income generation prospects, but also, and perhaps more importantly--given pervasive borrowing constraints and limited social security coverage--in terms of its ability to secure protection from income shortfalls. This article examines the relationship between household savings and family size. It also provides descriptive and multivariate evidence on the relationship of household savings and family size. It likewise uses a recent nationally representative household survey in the analysis. The results show that, on average, the impact of additional children on household savings is both negative and regressive.