IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ijhcfe/v24y2024i2d10.1007_s10754-023-09364-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Education and reproductive health: evidence from schooling expansion in Turkey

Author

Listed:
  • Prabal K. De

    (CUNY City College and Graduate Center)

  • Muhammed Tümay

    (Gumushane University)

Abstract

We investigate the role of additional years of schooling mandated by a compulsory schooling expansion law in affecting reproductive preferences and safe reproductive health behaviors in Turkey—a middle-to-high-income country with gender inequity in education but overall high levels of safe reproductive health practices at the time of passing the law. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, we find that the additional schooling improved several health behaviors. However, the effects on some outcomes commonly analyzed in the existing literature, such as contraceptive use or fertility, were either weak or insignificant. Overall, our findings complement the current literature on the marginal health benefits of schooling expansion and suggest that policymakers consider the institutional and cultural factors while evaluating the scope and potential non-educational benefits of such expansions.

Suggested Citation

  • Prabal K. De & Muhammed Tümay, 2024. "Education and reproductive health: evidence from schooling expansion in Turkey," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 301-331, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ijhcfe:v:24:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10754-023-09364-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10754-023-09364-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10754-023-09364-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10754-023-09364-x?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Murat G. Kırdar & Meltem Dayıoğlu & İsmet Koç, 2018. "The Effects of Compulsory-Schooling Laws on Teenage Marriage and Births in Turkey," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(4), pages 640-668.
    2. Justin McCrary & Heather Royer, 2011. "The Effect of Female Education on Fertility and Infant Health: Evidence from School Entry Policies Using Exact Date of Birth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(1), pages 158-195, February.
    3. Murat G. Kırdar & Meltem Dayıoğlu & İsmet Koç, 2016. "Does Longer Compulsory Education Equalize Schooling by Gender and Rural/Urban Residence?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 30(3), pages 549-579.
    4. Osili, Una Okonkwo & Long, Bridget Terry, 2008. "Does female schooling reduce fertility? Evidence from Nigeria," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 57-75, August.
    5. Meltem Dayioglu & Murat G. Kirdar & Ismet Koc, 2009. "The Impact of Schooling on The Timing of Marriage and Fertility: Evidence from A Change in Compulsory Schooling Law," Working Papers 470, Economic Research Forum, revised Mar 2009.
    6. Shin-Yi Chou & Jin-Tan Liu & Michael Grossman & Ted Joyce, 2010. "Parental Education and Child Health: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Taiwan," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 33-61, January.
    7. Janet Currie & Enrico Moretti, 2003. "Mother's Education and the Intergenerational Transmission of Human Capital: Evidence from College Openings," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1495-1532.
    8. Abu-Ghaida, Dina & Klasen, Stephan, 2004. "The Costs of Missing the Millennium Development Goal on Gender Equity," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1075-1107, July.
    9. Murat G. Kırdar, 2009. "The Impact of Schooling on the Timing of Marriage and Fertility: Evidence from a Change in Compulsory Schooling Law," 2009 Meeting Papers 809, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    10. Damon Clark & Heather Royer, 2013. "The Effect of Education on Adult Mortality and Health: Evidence from Britain," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2087-2120, October.
    11. Dursun, Bahadır & Cesur, Resul & Mocan, Naci, 2018. "The Impact of Education on Health Outcomes and Behaviors in a Middle-Income, Low-Education Country," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 94-114.
    12. David S. Lee & Enrico Moretti & Matthew J. Butler, 2004. "Do Voters Affect or Elect Policies? Evidence from the U. S. House," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(3), pages 807-859.
    13. Guido Imbens & Karthik Kalyanaraman, 2012. "Optimal Bandwidth Choice for the Regression Discontinuity Estimator," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(3), pages 933-959.
    14. Philip Oreopoulos & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2011. "Priceless: The Nonpecuniary Benefits of Schooling," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(1), pages 159-184, Winter.
    15. Resul Cesur & Naci H. Mocan, 2013. "Does Secular Education Impact Religiosity, Electoral Participation and the Propensity to Vote for Islamic Parties? Evidence from an Education Reform in a Muslim Country," NBER Working Papers 19769, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Kamhon Kan & Myoung‐Jae Lee, 2018. "The Effects Of Education On Fertility: Evidence From Taiwan," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 343-357, January.
    17. Bose, Bijetri & Heymann, Jody, 2019. "Effects of tuition-free primary education on women's access to family planning and on health decision-making: A cross-national study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    18. Keats, Anthony, 2018. "Women's schooling, fertility, and child health outcomes: Evidence from Uganda's free primary education program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 142-159.
    19. Hungerman, Daniel M., 2014. "The effect of education on religion: Evidence from compulsory schooling laws," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 52-63.
    20. Selim Gulesci & Erik Meyersson & Sofia K Trommlerová, 2020. "The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Expansion on Mothers’ Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence in Turkey," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 464-484.
    21. Akyol, Pelin & Kirdar, Murat Güray, 2020. "Does Education Really Cause Domestic Violence? Replication and Reappraisal of "For Better or For Worse? Education and the Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Turkey"," IZA Discussion Papers 14001, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Imbens, Guido W. & Lemieux, Thomas, 2008. "Regression discontinuity designs: A guide to practice," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 615-635, February.
    23. Philip Oreopoulos, 2006. "Estimating Average and Local Average Treatment Effects of Education when Compulsory Schooling Laws Really Matter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 152-175, March.
    24. Lucia Breierova & Esther Duflo, 2003. "The Impact of Education on Fertility and Child Mortality: Do Fathers Really Matter Less Than Mothers?," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 217, OECD Publishing.
    25. Bilge Erten & Pinar Keskin, 2020. "Breaking the Cycle? Education and the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(2), pages 252-268, May.
    26. Cutler, David M. & Lleras-Muney, Adriana, 2010. "Understanding differences in health behaviors by education," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-28, January.
    27. Crespo, Laura & López-Noval, Borja & Mira, Pedro, 2014. "Compulsory schooling, education, depression and memory: New evidence from SHARELIFE," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 36-46.
    28. Lavy, Victor & Zablotsky, Alexander, 2015. "Women's schooling and fertility under low female labor force participation: Evidence from mobility restrictions in Israel," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 105-121.
    29. Lee, David S. & Card, David, 2008. "Regression discontinuity inference with specification error," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 655-674, February.
    30. Joshua D. Angrist & Alan B. Keueger, 1991. "Does Compulsory School Attendance Affect Schooling and Earnings?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(4), pages 979-1014.
    31. Amin, Vikesh & Behrman, Jere R. & Spector, Tim D., 2013. "Does more schooling improve health outcomes and health related behaviors? Evidence from U.K. twins," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 134-148.
    32. Buddelmeyer, Hielke & Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2003. "An Evaluation of the Performance of Regression Discontinuity Design on PROGRESA," IZA Discussion Papers 827, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    33. Pedro Carneiro & Claire Crawford & Alissa Goodman, 2007. "The Impact of Early Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills on Later Outcomes," CEE Discussion Papers 0092, Centre for the Economics of Education, LSE.
    34. Bilge Erten & Pinar Keskin, 2018. "For Better or for Worse?: Education and the Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Turkey," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 64-105, January.
    35. Conti, Gabriella & Hansman, Christopher, 2013. "Personality and the education–health gradient: A note on “Understanding differences in health behaviors by education”," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 480-485.
    36. Julia Behrman, 2015. "Does Schooling Affect Women’s Desired Fertility? Evidence From Malawi, Uganda, and Ethiopia," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 787-809, June.
    37. Erten, Bilge & Keskin, Pinar, 2019. "Compulsory schooling for whom? The role of gender, poverty, and religiosity," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 187-203.
    38. Emily Smith-Greenaway, 2013. "Maternal Reading Skills and Child Mortality in Nigeria: A Reassessment of Why Education Matters," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(5), pages 1551-1561, October.
    39. Bahadır Dursun & Resul Cesur & Inas R. Kelly, 2022. "Mandatory Schooling of Girls Improved Their Children's Health: Evidence from Turkey's 1997 Education Reform," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(3), pages 824-858, June.
    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. Bahadir Dursun & Resul Cesur & Inas Rashad Kelly, 2017. "The Value of Mandating Maternal Education in a Developing Country," NBER Working Papers 23492, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Bahadır Dursun & Resul Cesur & Inas R. Kelly, 2022. "Mandatory Schooling of Girls Improved Their Children's Health: Evidence from Turkey's 1997 Education Reform," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(3), pages 824-858, June.
    3. Bahadır Dursun & Resul Cesur, 2016. "Transforming lives: the impact of compulsory schooling on hope and happiness," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(3), pages 911-956, July.
    4. Dursun, Bahadır & Cesur, Resul & Mocan, Naci, 2018. "The Impact of Education on Health Outcomes and Behaviors in a Middle-Income, Low-Education Country," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 94-114.
    5. Miron Tequame & Nyasha Tirivayi, 2015. "Higher education and fertility: Evidence from a natural experiment in Ethiopia," CINCH Working Paper Series 1509, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health, revised Aug 2015.
    6. Pelin Akyol & Naci Mocan, 2023. "Education and Consanguineous Marriage," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 114-171.
    7. Thao Bui, 2023. "Compulsory education reform and child mortality in Peru," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(9), pages 1941-1963, September.
    8. Murat G. Kırdar & Meltem Dayıoğlu & İsmet Koç, 2018. "The Effects of Compulsory-Schooling Laws on Teenage Marriage and Births in Turkey," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(4), pages 640-668.
    9. Makate, Marshall & Makate, Clifton, 2016. "The causal effect of increased primary schooling on child mortality in Malawi: Universal primary education as a natural experiment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 72-83.
    10. Bilge Erten & Luis Pinar Keskin, 2017. "Breaking the Cycle? Education and the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series dp-296, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    11. Gehrsitz, Markus & Williams, Jr., Morgan C., 2024. "The Effects of Compulsory Schooling on Health and Hospitalization over the Life Cycle," IZA Discussion Papers 17050, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Kountouris, Yiannis, 2020. "Higher education and fertility: Evidence from reforms in Greece," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Resul Cesur & Bahadir Dursun & Naci Mocan, 2014. "The Impact of Education on Health and Health Behavior in a Middle-Income, Low-Education Country," NBER Working Papers 20764, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Mustafa Özer & Jan Fidrmuc & Mehmet Ali Eryurt, 2023. "Education and domestic violence: Evidence from a natural experiment in Turkey," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(3), pages 436-460, August.
    15. Keats, Anthony, 2018. "Women's schooling, fertility, and child health outcomes: Evidence from Uganda's free primary education program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 142-159.
    16. Kamhon Kan & Myoung‐Jae Lee, 2018. "The Effects Of Education On Fertility: Evidence From Taiwan," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 343-357, January.
    17. Fatma Romeh M. Ali & Shiferaw Gurmu, 2018. "The impact of female education on fertility: a natural experiment from Egypt," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 681-712, September.
    18. Erten, Bilge & Keskin, Pinar, 2019. "Compulsory schooling for whom? The role of gender, poverty, and religiosity," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 187-203.
    19. Markus Gehrsitz & Morgan C. Williams, "undated". "The Effects of Compulsory Schooling on Health and Hospitalization over the Life Cycle," Working Papers 2303, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics, revised May 2020.
    20. Resul Cesur & Naci H. Mocan, 2013. "Does Secular Education Impact Religiosity, Electoral Participation and the Propensity to Vote for Islamic Parties? Evidence from an Education Reform in a Muslim Country," NBER Working Papers 19769, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Reproductive health; Turkey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I00 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

    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:kap:ijhcfe:v:24:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10754-023-09364-x. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.