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Urbanization, fertility and child education in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • Flückiger, Matthias
  • Ludwig, Markus

Abstract

Using individual-level survey data, we show that the urbanization process in today’s Sub-Saharan Africa is associated with the fertility transition and increased investment in child education. This is consistent with the experience of the Western economies during their transition from a (post-)Malthusian towards a modern growth regime. The use of individual-level data allows us to analyze structural rural–urban differences, holding constant age and regional characteristics which are potentially confounding factors in regional- and country-level regressions.

Suggested Citation

  • Flückiger, Matthias & Ludwig, Markus, 2017. "Urbanization, fertility and child education in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 97-102.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:157:y:2017:i:c:p:97-102
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2017.05.024
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alwyn Young, 2013. "Inequality, the Urban-Rural Gap, and Migration," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(4), pages 1727-1785.
    2. Galor, Oded, 2005. "From Stagnation to Growth: Unified Growth Theory," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 4, pages 171-293, Elsevier.
    3. Michael White & Salut Muhidin & Catherine Andrzejewski & Eva Tagoe & Rodney Knight & Holly Reed, 2008. "Urbanization and fertility: An event-history analysis of Coastal Ghana," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(4), pages 803-816, November.
    4. 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.
    5. Castells-Quintana, David, 2017. "Malthus living in a slum: Urban concentration, infrastructure and economic growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 158-173.
    6. David N. Weil & Oded Galor, 2000. "Population, Technology, and Growth: From Malthusian Stagnation to the Demographic Transition and Beyond," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 806-828, September.
    7. Edward L. Glaeser, 2014. "A World Of Cities: The Causes And Consequences Of Urbanization In Poorer Countries," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(5), pages 1154-1199, October.
    8. Henderson, J. Vernon, 2005. "Urbanization and Growth," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 24, pages 1543-1591, Elsevier.
    9. Jedwab, Remi & Christiaensen, Luc & Gindelsky, Marina, 2017. "Demography, urbanization and development: Rural push, urban pull and…urban push?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 6-16.
    10. Gary S. Becker, 1960. "An Economic Analysis of Fertility," NBER Chapters, in: Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries, pages 209-240, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Beatrice Asenso Barnieh & Li Jia & Massimo Menenti & Jie Zhou & Yelong Zeng, 2020. "Mapping Land Use Land Cover Transitions at Different Spatiotemporal Scales in West Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-52, October.
    2. de la Croix, David & Gobbi, Paula E., 2022. "Population homeostasis in sub-Saharan Africa," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Fertility; Mortality; Human capital; Structural transition; Urbanization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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