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Maternal age at first birth and adolescent education in Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • Leticia Marteleto

    (University of Texas at Austin)

  • Molly Dondero

    (University of Texas at Austin)

Abstract

Background: Brazil has witnessed dramatic changes in its fertility patterns in recent decades. The decline to below-replacement fertility has been accompanied by increases in the proportion of children born to young mothers. Yet we know little about the well-being of children born to young mothers in Brazil. Objective: Using data from the 2006 Pesquisa Nacional de Demografia e Saúde and a quasi-natural experimental approach, this study examines the implications of maternal age at first birth for the education of Brazilian adolescents. Results: We find that being born to a young mother is associated with educational disadvantages in adolescence, but that these disadvantages are attenuated once we account for mothers’ selection into early childbearing. We also find that, in southern Brazil, adolescents born to young mothers have poorer educational outcomes compared with their peers born to older mothers, but that in northern Brazil no such disparities exist. Conclusions: Adolescent educational disadvantages associated with being born to a young mother are not an artifact of selectivity, at least in southern Brazil. Regional variation in the effect of maternal age at first birth on adolescent education suggests the important role of the extended family and the father’s presence as mechanisms through which disadvantages operate.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:28:y:2013:i:28
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2013.28.28
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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. Sylvain Dessy & Setou Diarra & Roland Pongou, 2017. "Underage Brides and Grooms’ Education," Working Papers 1704E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    3. Dessy, Sylvain & Diarra, Setou & Pongou, Roland, 2017. "Underage Brides and Grooms' Education," MPRA Paper 77326, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. C. Emily Hendrick & Leticia Marteleto, 2017. "Maternal Household Decision-Making Autonomy and Adolescent Education in Honduras," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 36(3), pages 415-439, June.
    5. Sylvain Dessy, Setou Diarra, Roland Pongou & Setou Diarra & Roland Pongou, 2016. "Adolescent Brides and Grooms' Education: Theory and Evidence," Cahiers de recherche 1610, Centre de recherche sur les risques, les enjeux économiques, et les politiques publiques.
    6. 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.
    7. Letícia J. Marteleto & Gilvan Guedes & Raquel Z. Coutinho & Abigail Weitzman, 2020. "Live Births and Fertility Amid the Zika Epidemic in Brazil," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 843-872, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Brazil; Latin America; adolescent fertility; transition to adulthood; adolescent education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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