The Influence of Women’s Education on the Total Fertility Rate in 612 Sub-National Regions of the Developing World
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2021-07-12
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en
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Abstract
The negative relationship between women’s education and fertility is stated to be the most evident one in social science history. Many studies have confirmed that increased years of schooling of women leads to lower fertility rates. Yet, not much attention has been paid to this relationship on a sub-national level. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the relationship between women’s education and the total fertility rate of 612 sub-national regions in the developing world while controlling for socioeconomic context factors. The findings show that a higher level of women’s education is related to a lower level of fertility and that the effect of women’s education is stronger in regions with increased levels of household wealth or regional development and less strong in more urbanized regions. Also, a higher level of women’s education in the region is found to be particularly important in decreasing the fertility rate of women aged between 20 and 24 years old. The results thus suggest that, in order to achieve lower fertility rates on a sub-national level, policies should aim the improvement of women’s education in the early adult years.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen