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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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. 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.

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    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

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