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Uncertainty and the Second Space: Modern Birth Timing and the Dilemma of Education

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  • Jennifer Johnson-Hanks

    (University of California Berkeley)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the relationship between experiential and statistical uncertainties in the timing of births in Cameroon (Central Africa). Most theories of fertility level and change emphasize the emergence of parity-specific control, treating desired family size as both central, and stable across the life course. By contrast, this paper argues for a theory of reproduction that emphasizes process, social context, and contingency. The paper concentrates on the second birth interval, showing that it is longer and more variable among educated than among uneducated women. The paper argues that this difference is due to the specific forms of uncertainty associated with education in contemporary Cameroon.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer Johnson-Hanks, 2004. "Uncertainty and the Second Space: Modern Birth Timing and the Dilemma of Education," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 20(4), pages 351-373, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:20:y:2004:i:4:d:10.1007_s10680-004-4095-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-004-4095-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Ian M. Timæus & Tom A. Moultrie, 2008. "On Postponement and Birth Intervals," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 34(3), pages 483-510, September.
    3. Cao, Shixiong & Wang, Xiuqing, 2010. "Unsustainably low birth rates: A potential crisis leading to loss of racial and cultural diversity in China," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 159-162, January.
    4. Letícia J. Marteleto & Gilvan Guedes & Raquel Z. Coutinho & Abigail Weitzman, 2020. "Live Births and Fertility Amid the Zika Epidemic in Brazil," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 843-872, June.
    5. Laura Bernardi & Andreas Klärner & Holger von der Lippe, 2006. "Perceptions of job instability and the prospects of parenthood. A comparison between Eastern and Western Germany," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2006-017, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    6. Jungho Kim, 2010. "Women's Education and Fertility: An Analysis of the Relationship between Education and Birth Spacing in Indonesia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(4), pages 739-774, July.
    7. Sarah R. Hayford & Victor Agadjanian, 2019. "Spacing, Stopping, or Postponing? Fertility Desires in a Sub-Saharan Setting," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 573-594, April.
    8. Laura Bernardi & Andreas Klärner & Holger Lippe, 2008. "Job Insecurity and the Timing of Parenthood: A Comparison between Eastern and Western Germany," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 24(3), pages 287-313, September.
    9. Ian M. Timæus & Tom A. Moultrie, 2020. "Pathways to Low Fertility: 50 Years of Limitation, Curtailment, and Postponement of Childbearing," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(1), pages 267-296, February.
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