Youth Outlook on Life Opportunities Study

Plain-language summary

Singapore's fertility rate is currently below 1.2, raising concerns about population ageing and long-term sustainability. The fertility decline is characterized by falling birth rates among women in their 20s with almost no recuperation among women in their 30s. This project explores a) whether informational imperfections help to account for high intended ages at childbearing in Singapore, b) whether informational interventions significantly affect ideal and expected ages at marriage and childbearing, and expected probability of undergoing social egg freezing, and c) whether informational interventions significantly affect expected and actual educational outcomes and labor market outcomes. Our hypotheses are: 1. University students have knowledge gaps about age-related onset of infertility, assisted reproductive technologies and local policy initiatives related to age at marriage and childbearing, especially among male students. 2. Being exposed to accurate information in these domains leads to significantly lower ideal/expected ages at marriage and childbearing, and higher expected probability of undergoing social egg freezing, immediately after the intervention. 3. Being exposed to accurate information in these domains does not lead to lower educational and labor market expectations immediately after the intervention among either male or female students, or to significant differences in module choices, Cumulative Average Point (CAP), starting salary and employment status of university students in the following academic semester and six months after graduation, among either male or female students.

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