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Adolescent childbearing in sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Neeru Gupta

    (University of New Brunswick)

  • Mary Mahy

    (United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF))

Abstract

This article examines whether increased years of schooling exercised a consistent impact on delayed childbearing in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were drawn from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in eight countries over the period 1987-1999. Multiple logistic regressions were used to assess trends and determinants in the probability of first birth during adolescence. Girls' education from about the secondary level onwards was found to be the only consistently significant covariate. No effect of community aggregate education was discernible, after controlling for urbanity and other individual-level variables. The results reinforce previous findings that improving girls' education is a key instrument for raising ages at first birth, but suggest that increases in schooling at lower levels alone bear only somewhat on the prospects for fertility decline among adolescents.

Suggested Citation

  • Neeru Gupta & Mary Mahy, 2003. "Adolescent childbearing in sub-Saharan Africa," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 8(4), pages 93-106.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:8:y:2003:i:4
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2003.8.4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cynthia B. Lloyd & Carol E. Kaufman & Paul Hewett, 2000. "The Spread of Primary Schooling in sub‐Saharan Africa: Implications for Fertility Change," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 26(3), pages 483-515, September.
    2. Øystein Kravdal, 2000. "A search for aggregate-level effects of education on fertility, using data from Zimbabwe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 3(3).
    3. Øystein Kravdal, 2002. "Education and fertility in sub-Saharan africa: Individual and community effects," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 39(2), pages 233-250, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Øystein Kravdal, 2012. "Further evidence of community education effects on fertility in sub-Saharan Africa," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 27(22), pages 645-680.
    2. repec:rnp:ppaper:mn45 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Monica J. Grant, 2015. "The Demographic Promise of Expanded Female Education: Trends in the Age at First Birth in Malawi," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 41(3), pages 409-438, September.
    4. Niels-Hugo Blunch, 2018. "A Teenager in Love: Multidimensional Human Capital and Teenage Pregnancy in Ghana," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(3), pages 557-573, March.
    5. Kieron J. Barclay & Mikko Myrskylä, 2017. "Fertility postponement could reduce child mortality: evidence from 228 demographic and health surveys covering 77 developing countries," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2017-005, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    6. Gracia De Renteria, Pilar & Ferrer Perez, Hugo & Philippidis, George & Sanjuan Lopez, Ana Isabel, 2021. "Capturing the drivers of social SDGs: An econometric analysis of the dimensions of health and education," Conference papers 333271, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    7. Operations Evaluation Department, 2004. "Books, Buildings, and Learning Outcomes : An Impact Evaluation of World Bank Support to Basic Education in Ghana," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 14901, April.
    8. Were, Maureen, 2007. "Determinants of teenage pregnancies: The case of Busia District in Kenya," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 322-339, July.
    9. Ungar, Michael, 2011. "Community resilience for youth and families: Facilitative physical and social capital in contexts of adversity," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1742-1748, September.
    10. Howard White & Edoardo Masset, 2005. "Books, Buildings and Learning Outcomes: an impact evaluation of World Bank assistance to basic education in Ghana," Development and Comp Systems 0504013, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Donatien Beguy & Joyce Mumah & Lindsey Gottschalk, 2014. "Unintended Pregnancies among Young Women Living in Urban Slums: Evidence from a Prospective Study in Nairobi City, Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-10, July.
    12. Stephen Gyimah, 2009. "Cohort Differences in Women’s Educational Attainment and the Transition to First Marriage in Ghana," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 28(4), pages 455-471, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; Africa; developing countries; education; fertility determinants; adolescence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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