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The Effect of Female Education on Adolescent Fertility and Early Marriage: Evidence from Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education in Ghana

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  • Emmanuel Adu Boahen
  • Chikako Yamauchi

Abstract

This paper uses the implementation of Ghana’s Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) in 1996 as a natural experiment to investigate the causal effect of female education on adolescent fertility and early marriage. Girls who were exposed to the reform had more education, higher age at first marriage, and low fertility than girls who were not exposed to the reform. We find that the effect of the reform on adolescent fertility and early marriage decreases with age, and that the effect becomes statistically insignificant after age 19. There is some evidence that education affects adolescent fertility and early marriage as a result of knowledge acquisition, but we could find no evidence to support the view that education induces abstinence. Finally, we demonstrate that the effect of education on fertility and marital status differs by household wealth level and urban/rural community type.

Suggested Citation

  • Emmanuel Adu Boahen & Chikako Yamauchi, 2018. "The Effect of Female Education on Adolescent Fertility and Early Marriage: Evidence from Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education in Ghana," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 27(2), pages 227-248.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jafrec:v:27:y:2018:i:2:p:227-248.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jae/ejx025
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Joerg Baten & Michiel de Haas & Elisabeth Kempter & Felix Meier zu Selhausen, 2021. "Educational Gender Inequality in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Long‐Term Perspective," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(3), pages 813-849, September.
    2. Lili Huang & Qingyi Gao & Jiachen Fan & Jingwen Zhu & Zhenmu Hong, 2024. "Export stability and adolescent fertility rate," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(3), pages 1675-1706, April.
    3. Emmanuel Adu Boahen & Kwadwo Opoku & Simone Schotte, 2021. "Duration of Pre‐university Education and Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from a Quasi‐experiment in Ghana," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 208-232, January.
    4. Filmer, Deon, 2023. "Long-lived consequences of rapid scale-up? The case of free primary education in six Sub-Saharan African countries," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Masuda, Kazuya & Sakai, Yoko, 2018. "Secondary education and international labor mobility: Evidence from the free secondary education reform in the Philippines," CEI Working Paper Series 2018-5, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    6. Raju,Dhushyanth & Younger,Stephen D., 2022. "Benefits and Costs of Public Schooling in Ghana," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10017, The World Bank.
    7. Frederik Wild & David Stadelmann, 2024. "Heterogeneous Effects of Women's Schooling on Fertility, Literacy and Work: Evidence from Burundi's Free Primary Education Policy," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 33(1), pages 67-91.

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