In contemporary settings, greater earnings among women are typically associated with reduced marriage rates and lower fertility. One way that women’s earnings may increase is via changes in educational attainment. To study whether educational attainment affects marriage and fertility choices in a historical setting, I rely on the variation in educational attainment among female WWII veterans created by the 1944 G.I. Bill. Using data from the long-form 1980 census, I first show that WWII veteran status is associated with reduced rates of marriage, increased age at first marriage, and lower fertility, which suggests that G.I. Bill-related education could have had an important effect for veteran women. I then use age at the time of the G.I. Bill announcement as an instrument to establish a causal effect of educational attainment on marriage and fertility outcomes among female veterans. My instrumental variable estimates suggest that each year of G.I. Bill-induced educational attainment is associated with an 8 percentage point decrease in the probability of ever getting married, a 4.7 year increase in age at first marriage, and a 0.67 reduction in the number of children. Using age at the time of the G.I. Bill announcement as an instrument is valid because the benefits could not have been easily anticipated, women had to be 21 to enlist, and the generosity of one’s G.I. Bill benefits depended on the number of years of WWII service.

在当代环境中，女性收入增加通常与结婚率下降和生育率下降相关。女性收入增加的一种方法是改变教育程度。为了研究历史背景下教育程度是否会影响婚姻和生育选择，我利用了 1944 年《退伍军人权利法案》规定的二战女性退伍军人教育程度的差异。我利用 1980 年的长期人口普查数据，首先表明，二战退伍军人的身份与结婚率下降、初婚年龄增加和生育率降低有关，这表明《退伍军人权利法案》相关的教育可能对退伍军人妇女。然后我使用 GI 时的年龄 法案公告作为确定教育程度对女性退伍军人婚姻和生育结果的因果影响的工具。我的工具变量估计表明，《退伍军人权利法案》导致的教育程度每提高一年，结婚概率就会降低 8 个百分点，初婚年龄会增加 4.7 岁，子女数量会减少 0.67 岁。 。使用《退伍军人权利法案》宣布时的年龄作为工具是有效的，因为其好处不易预见，女性必须年满 21 岁才能入伍，而且一个人的《退伍军人权利法案》福利的慷慨程度取决于二战服役年限。比尔引起的教育程度与结婚概率下降 8 个百分点、初婚年龄增加 4.7 岁以及子女数量减少 0.67 岁有关。使用《退伍军人权利法案》宣布时的年龄作为工具是有效的，因为其好处不易预见，女性必须年满 21 岁才能入伍，而且一个人的《退伍军人权利法案》福利的慷慨程度取决于二战服役年限。比尔引起的教育程度与结婚概率下降 8 个百分点、初婚年龄增加 4.7 岁以及子女数量减少 0.67 岁有关。使用《退伍军人权利法案》宣布时的年龄作为工具是有效的，因为其好处不易预见，女性必须年满 21 岁才能入伍，而且一个人的《退伍军人权利法案》福利的慷慨程度取决于二战服役年限。