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Modelling the impact of women’s education on fertility in Malawi

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  • Luca Zanin
  • Rosalba Radice
  • Giampiero Marra

Abstract

Many studies have suggested that there is an inverse relationship between education and number of children among women from sub-Saharan Africa countries, including Malawi. However, a crucial limitation of these analyses is that they do not control for the potential endogeneity of education. The aim of our study is to estimate the role of women’s education on their number of children in Malawi, accounting for the possible presence of endogeneity and for nonlinear effects of continuous observed confounders. Our analysis is based on micro data from the 2010 Malawi Demographic Health Survey, and uses a flexible instrumental variable regression approach. The results suggest that the relationship of interest is affected by endogeneity and exhibits an inverted U-shape among women living in rural areas of Malawi, whereas it exhibits an inverse (nonlinear) relationship for women living in urban areas. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Zanin & Rosalba Radice & Giampiero Marra, 2015. "Modelling the impact of women’s education on fertility in Malawi," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 89-111, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:28:y:2015:i:1:p:89-111
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-013-0502-8
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    2. Julia Behrman, 2015. "Does Schooling Affect Women’s Desired Fertility? Evidence From Malawi, Uganda, and Ethiopia," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 787-809, June.
    3. Chiara Mussida & Luca Zanin, 2020. "I found a better job opportunity! Voluntary job mobility of employees and temporary contracts before and after the great recession in France, Italy and Spain," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 47-98, July.

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