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Women's Education and Fertility: An Analysis of the Relationship between Education and Birth Spacing in Indonesia

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  • Jungho Kim

Abstract

The negative relationship between women's education and fertility is one of the strongest empirical regularities in social science, yet there are few empirical studies that identify the mechanisms through which education affects fertility. This article goes beyond the usual interpretation of education as a proxy for wage by testing whether education affects fertility through demand for children or through availability of contraceptives. Using the Indonesian case, it examines one aspect of fertility, namely, birth spacing, over the period 1970-93. I find that higher levels of female education are associated with a shorter birth interval among earlier cohorts but with a longer birth interval among later cohorts. The key finding is that changes in the effects of education on birth hazard over time are primarily driven by changes in the availability of contraceptives rather than by changes in the demand for children. In the context of contraceptive technology, the result can be interpreted as evidence for the hypothesis that education enhances the ability to decipher new information. (c) 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:v:58:y:2010:i:4:p:739-774
    DOI: 10.1086/649638
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    3. Caroline Krafft, 2020. "Why is fertility on the rise in Egypt? The role of women’s employment opportunities," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 1173-1218, October.
    4. Gertrude E Elleamoh & Fidelia A A Dake, 2019. "“Cementing” marriages through childbearing in subsequent unions: Insights into fertility differentials among first-time married and remarried women in Ghana," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Hatton, Timothy J. & Sparrow, Robert & Suryadarma, Daniel & van der Eng, Pierre, 2018. "Fertility and the health of children in Indonesia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 67-78.
    6. Strupat, Christoph, 2014. "Does Timing of Health and Family Planning Services Matter? Age at First Birth and Educational Attainment in Indonesia," Ruhr Economic Papers 503, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
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    8. Bhashkar Mazumder & Maria Fernanda Rosales-Rueda & Margaret Triyana, 2023. "Social Interventions, Health, and Well-Being: The Long-Term and Intergenerational Effects of a School Construction Program," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(4), pages 1097-1140.
    9. Thomas Gries & Rainer Grundmann, 2014. "Trade and fertility in the developing world: the impact of trade and trade structure," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(4), pages 1165-1186, October.
    10. Boonaert, Eva & Hoyweghen, Kaat Van & Feyisa, Ashenafi Duguma & Goos, Peter & Maertens, Miet, 2021. "Twofold Gendered Preferences in the Quantity-Quality Trade-Off Impact the Demographic Transition in Ethiopia," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315224, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Christoph Strupat, 2017. "Do Targeted Reproductive Health Services Matter? – The Impact of a Midwife Program in Indonesia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(12), pages 1667-1681, December.
    12. Seema Jayachandran, 2014. "Does Contraceptive Use Always Reduce Breast-feeding?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 917-937, June.
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    14. Christoph Strupat, 2014. "Does Timing of Health and Family Planning Services Matter? Age at First Birth and Educational Attainment in Indonesia," Ruhr Economic Papers 0503, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.

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