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Social Interactions, Ethnicity and Fertility in Kenya

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  • Iyer, S.
  • Weeks, M.

Abstract

This paper examines, theoretically and empirically, the impact of reproductive externalities on fertility behaviour in Kenya. We examine this issue by identifying structural forms of social interaction operating across individuals belonging to different ethnic groups on the number of children ever born. We use the 1998 Demographic and Health Survey, and meteorological data on Kenya, to examine whether social interactions effects are important over and above an individual's characteristics in order to explain variations in fertility. In so doing, we conclude that social interactions are very important for the fertility behaviour of different ethnic groups in Kenya.

Suggested Citation

  • Iyer, S. & Weeks, M., 2009. "Social Interactions, Ethnicity and Fertility in Kenya," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0903, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cam:camdae:0903
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    Cited by:

    1. Leonardo Fabio Morales, 2015. "Peer Effects on a Fertility Decision: an Application for Medellín, Colombia," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 119-159, February.
    2. Tumen, Semih, 2012. "Fertility decisions and endogenous residential sorting," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1-2), pages 78-87.
    3. Maren Duvendack & Richard Palmer-Jones, 2023. "Colonial Legacies, Ethnicity and Fertility Decline in Kenya: What has Financial Inclusion Got to Do with It?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(5), pages 1028-1058, October.
    4. Kwok, Hon Ho, 2019. "Identification and estimation of linear social interaction models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 210(2), pages 434-458.

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