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The impact of female employment on fertility in Dakar (Senegal) and Lomé (Togo)

Author

Listed:
  • Donatien Beguy

    (United Nations Human Settlements (UN Habitat))

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of female employment on fertility in two urban contexts in sub-Saharan Africa: Dakar (Senegal) and Lomé (Togo). The hypothesis that wage employment and maternal obligations are incompatible seems to be corroborated in Lomé, where women are likely to consider work as a legitimate alternative to their role as a mother or spouse. Being involved in economic activity is a real option and can therefore impact upon their reproductive life. By contrast, in Dakar working does not seem to hinder family formation. Greater involvement of women in the labour force is not the main reason for fertility decline in Dakar. These findings illustrate how important it is to consider social gender-specific roles in order to accurately determine the influence of female employment on reproductive life.

Suggested Citation

  • Donatien Beguy, 2009. "The impact of female employment on fertility in Dakar (Senegal) and Lomé (Togo)," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 20(7), pages 97-128.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:20:y:2009:i:7
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2009.20.7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michael Hout, 1978. "The determinants of marital fertility in the united states, 1968–1970: Inferences from a dynamic model," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 15(2), pages 139-159, May.
    2. David Blau & Philip Robins, 1989. "Fertility, Employment, and Child-Care Costs," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 26(2), pages 287-299, May.
    3. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4537 is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Ayse Abbasoglu Ozgoren & A. Banu Ergöçmen & Aysıt Tansel, 2018. "Birth and employment transitions of women in Turkey: The emergence of role incompatibility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(46), pages 1241-1290.
    2. Van den Broeck, Goedele & Maertens, Miet, 2014. "Does female employment reduce fertility rates? Evidence from the Senegalese horticultural export sector," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182715, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Abbasoğlu Özgören, Ayşe & Ergöçmen, Banu & Tansel, Aysit, 2017. "Birth and Employment Transitions of Women in Turkey: Conflicting or Compatible Roles?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 161, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Goedele Van den Broeck & Miet Maertens, 2015. "Female Employment Reduces Fertility in Rural Senegal," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, March.
    5. Thirunaukarasu Subramaniam & Nanthakumar Loganathan & Evelyn S. Devadason, 2018. "Determinants Of Female Fertility In Asean-5: Empirical Evidence From Bounds Cointegration Test," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 63(03), pages 593-618, June.
    6. Nsanja, Lamulo, 2022. "Effects of Education on Fertility and Labour Supply: Evidence from Malawi," African Journal of Economic Review, African Journal of Economic Review, vol. 10(4), September.
    7. Yu, Haiyue & Cao, Jin & Kang, Shulong, 2021. "Who cares: Deciphering China's female employment paradox," BOFIT Discussion Papers 7/2021, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    8. Noha Emara, 2016. "Fertility and Female Employment: A Panel Study on Developing Countries," Applied Economics and Finance, Redfame publishing, vol. 3(2), pages 122-127, May.
    9. Yu, Haiyue & Cao, Jin & Kang, Shulong, 2021. "Who cares : Deciphering China’s female employment paradox," BOFIT Discussion Papers 7/2021, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    10. repec:zbw:bofitp:2021_007 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; Africa; employment; event history analysis; sub-Saharan Africa; women; Senegal; gender roles; maternal role incompatibility; Togo;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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