IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v34y2016i15.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

First union formation in urban Burkina Faso: Competing relationship transitions to marriage or cohabitation

Author

Listed:
  • Anne-Emmanuèle Calvès

    (Université de Montréal)

Abstract

Background: In several African cities the prevalence of unmarried cohabitation among youth has risen considerably. Because of its potentially negative implications for women and their children, in some countries cohabitation has even become a matter of heated public debate and policy concern. In contrast to industrialized countries, however, the choice between marriage and cohabitation in the region has attracted little attention. Objective: The purpose of the study is to explore the rising phenomenon of young, unmarried, cohabiting couples in Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, and to evaluate how characteristics of both partners involved in a dating relationship affect the choice between marriage and non-marital cohabitation when forming a first union. Methods: Based on life history data including unique relationship biographies, the study takes a competing risks approach to examine relationship transitions to a first marriage or unmarried cohabitation. Results: A long spell of unmarried cohabitation is common among youth in Ouagadougou today, and children’s exposure to cohabitation is high. While occupation, especially male occupation, is a crucial determinant of entry into union - having a similar effect on marriage and cohabitation risks - partners’ educational attainment, ethnic endogamy, and religion significantly affect the choice between marriage and cohabitation. Conclusions: Ideational changes rather than economic ones motivate youth to choose cohabitation instead of marriage. Cohabitation in Ouagadougou has not become the "poor man’s wedding", as Oppenheimer’s hypothesis would suggest, but rather the preferred choice of dating couples who are more willing and able to distance themselves from familial expectations and marital norms.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne-Emmanuèle Calvès, 2016. "First union formation in urban Burkina Faso: Competing relationship transitions to marriage or cohabitation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(15), pages 421-450.
  • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:34:y:2016:i:15
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2016.34.15
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol34/15/34-15.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2016.34.15?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. Michael Brien & Lee Lillard & Linda Waite, 1999. "Interrelated family-building behaviors: Cohabitation, marriage, and nonmarital conception," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 36(4), pages 535-551, November.
    2. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4376 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Clémentine Rossier, 2007. "Attitudes towards abortion and contraception in rural and urban Burkina Faso," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 17(2), pages 23-58.
    4. Philippe De Vreyer & François Roubaud, 2013. "Urban Labor Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15808.
    5. Victor Agadjanian & Premchand Dommaraju, 2011. "Culture, Modernization, and Politics: Ethnic Differences in Union Formation in Kyrgyzstan [Culture, modernisation et politiques: différences ethniques dans la formation des unions au Kirghizstan]," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 79-101, February.
    6. repec:cai:popine:popu_p1995_50n1_0117 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Hanneke Dijkman & Meine Pieter Van Dijk, 1993. "Female Entrepreneurs in the Informal Sector of Ouagadougou," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 11(3), pages 273-288, September.
    8. Elizabeth Cooper, 2012. "Women and Inheritance in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Can Change?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 30(5), pages 641-657, September.
    9. Tiziana Nazio & Hans-Peter Blossfeld, 2003. "The Diffusion of Cohabitation among Young Women in West Germany, East Germany and Italy," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 47-82, March.
    10. Poulin, Michelle, 2007. "Sex, money, and premarital partnerships in southern Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(11), pages 2383-2393, December.
    11. Dominique Tabutin & Bruno Schoumaker, 2004. "La démographie de l'Afrique au sud du Sahara des années 1950 aux années 2000. Synthèse des changements et bilan statistique," Population (french edition), Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED), vol. 59(3), pages 521-622.
    12. Michael J. Brien & Lee A. Hillard & Linda Waite, "undated". "Cohabitation, Marriage, and Non-Fertility," University of Chicago - Population Research Center 97-5, Chicago - Population Research Center.
    13. Valerie Oppenheimer, 2003. "Cohabiting and marriage during young men’s career-development process," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(1), pages 127-149, February.
    14. Barbara S. Mensch & Monica J. Grant & Ann K. Blanc, 2006. "The Changing Context of Sexual Initiation in sub‐Saharan Africa," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 32(4), pages 699-727, December.
    15. Agnès Adjamagbo & Philippe Antoine & Donatien Beguy & Fatou Binetou Dial, 2006. "Comment les femmes concilient-elles mariage et travail à Dakar et à Lomé ?," Working Papers DT/2006/04, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Nicoletta Balbo & Nicola Barban & Melinda Mills, 2013. "Friend and peer effects on entry into marriage and parenthood: A multiprocess approach," Working Papers 056, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    2. Brienna Perelli-Harris & Theodore Gerber, 2011. "Nonmarital Childbearing in Russia: Second Demographic Transition or Pattern of Disadvantage?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(1), pages 317-342, February.
    3. Julia Mikolai & Brienna Perelli-Harris & Ann Berrington, 2018. "The role of education in the intersection of partnership transitions and motherhood in Europe and the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(27), pages 753-794.
    4. Andrew Beauchamp, 2016. "Abortion Costs, Separation, and Non-marital Childbearing," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 182-196, June.
    5. Viviana Salinas, 2016. "Changes in Cohabitation After the Birth of the First Child in Chile," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(3), pages 351-375, June.
    6. Andreas Klärner, 2015. "The low importance of marriage in eastern Germany - social norms and the role of peoples’ perceptions of the past," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(9), pages 239-272.
    7. James M. Raymo & Miho Iwasawa & Larry Bumpass, 2008. "Cohabitation and Family Formation in Japan," ISER Discussion Paper 0714, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    8. Francesca Marchetta & David E. Sahn, 2016. "The Role of Education and Family Background in Marriage, Childbearing, and Labor Market Participation in Senegal," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(2), pages 369-403.
    9. Jean-Marie Le Goff, 2002. "Cohabiting unions in France and West Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 7(18), pages 593-624.
    10. Gangadharan, L. & Maitra, P., 2000. "The Effect of Education on the Timing of Marriage and First Conception in Pakistan," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 742, The University of Melbourne.
    11. Leone, Tiziana & Hinde, Andrew, 2007. "Fertility and union dissolution in Brazil: an example of multi-process modelling using the Demographic and Health Survey calendar data," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 14701, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Tomáš Sobotka & Laurent Toulemon, 2008. "Overview Chapter 4: Changing family and partnership behaviour," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(6), pages 85-138.
    13. Pau Baizán & Arnstein Aassve & Francesco C. Billari, 2002. "Institutional arrangements and life course outcomes: the interrelations between cohabitation, marriage and first birth in Germany and Sweden," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2002-026, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    14. Lata Gangadharan & Pushkar Maitra, 2001. "The Effect of Education on the Timing of Marriage and First Birth in Pakistan," ASARC Working Papers 2001-04, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    15. Pushkar Maitra & Sarmistha Pal, 2004. "Birth Spacing and Child Survival: Comparative Evidence from India and Pakistan," Labor and Demography 0403023, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Ann Garbett & Brienna Perelli‐Harris & Sarah Neal, 2021. "The Untold Story of 50 Years of Adolescent Fertility in West Africa: A Cohort Perspective on the Quantum, Timing, and Spacing of Adolescent Childbearing," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(1), pages 7-40, March.
    17. David Blau & Wilbert Klaauw, 2008. "A demographic analysis of the family structure experiences of children in the United States," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 6(3), pages 193-221, September.
    18. Del Bono, Emilia, 2004. "Pre-Marital Fertility and Labour Market Opportunities: Evidence from the 1970 British Cohort Study," IZA Discussion Papers 1320, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Jan Bavel, 2010. "Choice of study discipline and the postponement of motherhood in Europe: The impact of expected earnings, gender composition, and family attitudes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(2), pages 439-458, May.
    20. Gustavo J. Bobonis, 2011. "The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on Marriage and Divorce," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(2), pages 281-312.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    cohabitation; marriage; union formation; youth; Burkina Faso; relationship processes; Africa; Oppenheimer’s hypothesis; competing analysis; Fine and Gray model;
    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:34:y:2016:i:15. 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.