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Family planning and fertility : estimating program effects using cross-sectional data

Author

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  • Portner, Claus C
  • Beegle, Kathleen
  • Christiaensen, Luc

Abstract

Although reproductive health advocates consider family planning programs the intervention of choice to reduce fertility, there remains a great deal of skepticism among economists as to their effectiveness, despite little rigorous evidence to support either position. This study explores the effects of family planning in Ethiopia using a novel set of instruments to control for potential non-random program placement. The instruments are based on ordinal rankings of area characteristics, motivated by competition between areas for resources. Access to family planning is found to reduce completed fertility by more than one child among women without education. No effect is found among women with some formal schooling, suggesting that family planning and formal education act as substitutes, at least in this low-income, low-growth setting. This provides support to the notion that increasing access to family planning can provide an important, complementary entry point to kick-start the process of fertility reduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Portner, Claus C & Beegle, Kathleen & Christiaensen, Luc, 2011. "Family planning and fertility : estimating program effects using cross-sectional data," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5812, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5812
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    Cited by:

    1. Céline Zipfel, 2022. "The demand side of Africa's demographic transition: desired fertility, wealth, and jobs," STICERD - Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers Series 71, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    2. Francesca Marchetta & David E. Sahn, 2016. "The Role of Education and Family Background in Marriage, Childbearing, and Labor Market Participation in Senegal," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(2), pages 369-403.
    3. Amanda Glassman, Kate McQueston, and Rachel Silverman, 2012. "Adolescent Fertility in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Effects and Solutions - Working Paper 295," Working Papers 295, Center for Global Development.
    4. Marianna Battaglia & Nina Pallarés, 2018. "Family Planning and Child Health Care: Evidence from a Permanent Aggressive Intervention," Working Papers. Serie AD 2018-03, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    5. Peter Glick & Christopher Handy & David E. Sahn, 2015. "Schooling, marriage, and age at first birth in Madagascar," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 69(2), pages 219-236, July.
    6. Herrera Catalina & E. Sahn David, 2017. "Working Paper 281 - Early Childbearing, School Attainment and Cognitive Skills," Working Paper Series 2398, African Development Bank.
    7. Elina Pradhan & David Canning, 2016. "The Effect of Schooling on Teenage Fertility: Evidence from the 1994 Education Reform in Ethiopia," PGDA Working Papers 12816, Program on the Global Demography of Aging.
    8. Herrera-Almanza, Catalina & Sahn, David E. & Villa, Kira M., 2016. "Teen Fertility and Labor Market Segmentation: Evidence from Madagascar," IZA Discussion Papers 10464, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Herrera, Catalina & Sahn, David & Villa, Kira, 2016. "Early Fertility and Labor Market Segmentation: Evidence from Madagascar," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235749, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Catalina Herrera Almanza & David E. Sahn, 2018. "Early Childbearing, School Attainment, and Cognitive Skills: Evidence From Madagascar," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(2), pages 643-668, April.
    11. David SAHN & Christopher HANDY & Peter GLICK, 2012. "Schooling, Marriage, and Childbearing in Madagascar," Working Papers 201225, CERDI.

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    Keywords

    Population Policies; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Adolescent Health; Reproductive Health; Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems;
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