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Women’s Education: Harbinger of Another Spring? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Turkey

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  • Dinçer, Mehmet Alper
  • Kaushal, Neeraj
  • Grossman, Michael

Abstract

We use Turkey’s 1997 Education Law that increased compulsory schooling from 5 to 8years to study the effect of education on women’s fertility and empowerment. Using an instrumental variables methodology, we find that a 10 percentage-point increase in the proportion of ever-married women with eight-years of schooling lowered pregnancies by 0.13 per woman; increased the proportion paying an antenatal-visit during the first trimester by 6 percentage points; using contraceptives by eight points and with knowledge of the ovulation cycle by five points. There is weak evidence that schooling decreased child mortality; no evidence that it changed attitudes toward gender inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Dinçer, Mehmet Alper & Kaushal, Neeraj & Grossman, Michael, 2014. "Women’s Education: Harbinger of Another Spring? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Turkey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 243-258.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:64:y:2014:i:c:p:243-258
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.06.010
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    health; education and inequality; education and economic development; marriage and fertility; Middle East; Turkey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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