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Female education and its impact on fertility

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  • Jungho Kim

    (Ajou University, Republic of Korea, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

The negative correlation between women’s education and fertility is strongly observed across regions and time; however, its interpretation is unclear. Women’s education level could affect fertility through its impact on women’s health and their physical capacity to give birth, children’s health, the number of children desired, and women’s ability to control birth and knowledge of different birth control methods. Each of these mechanisms depends on the individual, institutional, and country circumstances experienced. Their relative importance may change along a country’s economic development process.

Suggested Citation

  • Jungho Kim, 2016. "Female education and its impact on fertility," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 228-228, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2016:n:228
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Chouhan, Pradip & Saha, Jay & Zaveri, Ankita, 2020. "Covariates of fertility behavior among ever-married women in West Bengal, India: Analysis of the National Family Health Survey-4," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
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    7. Sala Adrian Lucian, 2019. "Effects Of Education On Birth Rates In Romania," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 3, pages 174-181, June.
    8. Million Phiri & Liness Shasha & Emmanuel Musonda & Mikidadi Muhanga & Musonda Lemba, 2023. "Choice of desired family size among young women in Zambia: what matters?," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 1-18, September.
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    10. Dalomi Bahan & Latif Dramani, 2019. "Socioeconomic Status and Fertility Decline in Burkina Faso, 2003-2015," Applied Economics and Finance, Redfame publishing, vol. 6(2), pages 56-70, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    female education; fertility; demand for children; fertility control costs; returns to education; family planning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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