IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v20y2009i9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is Latin America starting to retreat from early and universal childbearing?

Author

Listed:
  • Luis Rosero-Bixby

    (Universidad de Costa Rica)

  • Teresa Castro Martín

    (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC))

  • Teresa Martín García

    (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC))

Abstract

The 2000 censuses show that the proportion of women below age 30 who are mothers has dropped substantially in most Latin America countries, suggesting that the social imperative of early motherhood, which has long prevailed in the region, is weakening. Surveys conducted in 14 Latin American countries in 2006 also show a strong link between childlessness and higher education across several cohorts. We discuss whether the recent increase in childlessness among young women reflects a shift towards later childbearing, a novel trend in the Latin American context, and also whether it may signal an emerging retreat from universal childbearing in the region.

Suggested Citation

  • Luis Rosero-Bixby & Teresa Castro Martín & Teresa Martín García, 2009. "Is Latin America starting to retreat from early and universal childbearing?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 20(9), pages 169-194.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:20:y:2009:i:9
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2009.20.9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol20/9/20-9.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2009.20.9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hans‐Peter Kohler & Francesco C. Billari & José Antonio Ortega, 2002. "The Emergence of Lowest‐Low Fertility in Europe During the 1990s," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 28(4), pages 641-680, December.
    2. Monica J. Grant & Frank F. Furstenberg, 2007. "Changes in the Transition to Adulthood in Less Developed Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 415-428, October.
    3. Maria Letizia Tanturri & Letizia Mencarini, 2008. "Childless or Childfree? Paths to Voluntary Childlessness in Italy," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 34(1), pages 51-77, March.
    4. Joseph Potter & Carl Schmertmann & Suzana Cavenaghi, 2002. "Fertility and development: evidence from Brazil," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 39(4), pages 739-761, November.
    5. repec:cai:poeine:pope_603_0197 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Aart C. Liefbroer & Dimiter Philipov & Francesco C. Billari, 2006. "The Postponement of Childbearing in Europe: Driving Forces and Implications," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17.
    7. Tomas Frejka & Jean-Paul Sardon, 2007. "Cohort birth order, parity progression ratio and parity distribution trends in developed countries," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 16(11), pages 315-374.
    8. Adsera, Alicia & Menendez, Alicia, 2009. "Fertility Changes in Latin America in the Context of Economic Uncertainty," IZA Discussion Papers 4019, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ewa Batyra & Tiziana Leone & Mikko Myrskylä, 2021. "Forecasting of cohort fertility by educational level in countries with limited data availability: the case of Brazil," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2021-011, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    2. Elisabeth K. Kraus & Teresa Castro-Martín, 2018. "Does Migrant Background Matter for Adolescents’ Fertility Preferences? The Latin American 1.5 Generation in Spain," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(3), pages 277-312, August.
    3. Julieta Pérez Amador, 2016. "Continuity and change of cohabitation in Mexico," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(42), pages 1245-1258.
    4. Carolina Aragao & Aida Villanueva, 2021. "How do mothers work? Kin coresidence and mothers' work in Latin America," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(30), pages 917-956.
    5. Ewa Batyra, 2016. "Fertility and the changing pattern of the timing of childbearing in Colombia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(46), pages 1343-1372.
    6. Teresa Martín-García, 2009. "The effect of education on women's propensity to be childless in Spain: Does the field of education matter?," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 114, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    7. Jesús García-Gómez & Emilio Parrado, 2023. "Early Childbearing of Immigrant Women and Their Descendants in Spain," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-26, August.
    8. Benoît Laplante & Teresa Castro-Martín & Clara Cortina & Teresa Martín-García, 2015. "Childbearing within Marriage and Consensual Union in Latin America, 1980–2010," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 41(1), pages 85-108, March.
    9. José Henrique Costa Monteiro da Silva & Everton Emanuel Campos de Lima & Maria Coleta Ferreira Albino de Oliveira, 2022. "Educational pairings and fertility decline in Brazil: An analysis using cohort fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(6), pages 147-178.
    10. Mathías Nathan & Ignacio Pardo & Wanda Cabella, 2016. "Diverging patterns of fertility decline in Uruguay," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(20), pages 563-586.
    11. Batyra, Ewa & Leone, Tiziana & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2022. "Forecasting of cohort fertility by educational level in countries with limited data availability: the case of Brazil," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 116627, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. José Ortega, 2014. "A Characterization of World Union Patterns at the National and Regional Level," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 33(2), pages 161-188, April.
    13. Ewa Batyra, 2020. "Increasing Educational Disparities in the Timing of Motherhood in the Andean Region: A Cohort Perspective," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(2), pages 283-309, April.
    14. Albert Esteve & Luis Ángel López-Ruiz & Jeroen Spijker, 2013. "Disentangling how educational expansion did not increase women's age at union formation in Latin America from 1970 to 2000," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(3), pages 63-76.
    15. Kathryn Yount & Sarah Zureick-Brown & Nafisa Halim & Kayla LaVilla, 2014. "Fertility Decline, Girls’ Well-being, and Gender Gaps in Children’s Well-being in Poor Countries," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 535-561, April.
    16. Victor Antunes Leocádio & Ana Paula Verona & Adriana Miranda-Ribeiro, 2022. "Contributions of Sociodemographic Changes to the Increase in Permanent Childlessness in Brazil: A Cohort Decomposition Analysis," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(5), pages 1951-1973, October.
    17. Juliana Jaramillo-Echeverri, 2024. "Understanding the relationship between women’s education and fertility decline: Evidence from Colombia," Cuadernos de Historia Económica 63, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Maria Castiglioni & Alessandro Rosina, 2009. "Lowest-Low Fertility: Signs of a recovery in Italy?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(23), pages 681-718.
    2. Piotr Dominiak & Ewa Lechman & Anna Okonowicz, 2015. "Fertility Rebound And Economic Growth. New Evidence For 18 Countries Over The Period 1970–2011," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 10(1), pages 91-112, March.
    3. Teresa Martín-García, 2009. "The effect of education on women's propensity to be childless in Spain: Does the field of education matter?," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 114, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    4. Mikucka, Malgorzata, 2015. "How does parenthood affect life satisfaction in Russia?," MPRA Paper 65376, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Laura Bernardi & Andreas Klärner, 2014. "Social networks and fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(22), pages 641-670.
    6. Melinda Mills & Katia Begall & Letizia Mencarini & Maria Letizia Tanturri, 2008. "Gender equity and fertility intentions in Italy and the Netherlands," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 18(1), pages 1-26.
    7. Joshua R. Goldstein & Michaela Kreyenfeld & Aiva Jasilioniene & Deniz Dilan Karaman Örsal, 2013. "Fertility Reactions to the "Great Recession" in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 29(4), pages 85-104.
    8. Tomas Frejka & Tomáš Sobotka, 2008. "Overview Chapter 1: Fertility in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(3), pages 15-46.
    9. Máire Ní Bhrolcháin, 2011. "Tempo and the TFR," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(3), pages 841-861, August.
    10. Sunnee Billingsley, 2010. "The Post-Communist Fertility Puzzle," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 29(2), pages 193-231, April.
    11. Leticia Marteleto & Molly Dondero, 2013. "Maternal age at first birth and adolescent education in Brazil," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(28), pages 793-820.
    12. Vegard Skirbekk & Hans-Peter Kohler & Alexia Prskawetz, 2004. "Birth month, school graduation, and the timing of births and marriages," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(3), pages 547-568, August.
    13. Shoumitro Chatterjee & Tom S. Vogl, 2016. "Growth and Childbearing in the Short- and Long-Run," Working Papers sc_tv_growth_fertility.pd, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
    14. Schäfer, Andreas, 2014. "Technological change, population dynamics, and natural resource depletion," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 122-136.
    15. Fujii, Tomoki & Shonchoy, Abu S. & Xu, Sijia, 2018. "Impact of Electrification on Children’s Nutritional Status in Rural Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 315-330.
    16. Chiara Ludovica Comolli, 2017. "The fertility response to the Great Recession in Europe and the United States: Structural economic conditions and perceived economic uncertainty," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(51), pages 1549-1600.
    17. Tomas Frejka, 2008. "Overview Chapter 5: Determinants of family formation and childbearing during the societal transition in Central and Eastern Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(7), pages 139-170.
    18. David Lam, 2011. "How the World Survived the Population Bomb: Lessons From 50 Years of Extraordinary Demographic History," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(4), pages 1231-1262, November.
    19. Timothy W. Guinnane, 2011. "The Historical Fertility Transition: A Guide for Economists," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 589-614, September.
    20. Lisa Van Landschoot & Helga de Valk & Jan Van Bavel, 2017. "Fertility among descendants of immigrants in Belgium: The role of the partner," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(60), pages 1827-1858.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; Latin America; first birth; childlessness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:20:y:2009:i:9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Editorial Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.