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Teenage Childbearing in Latin American Countries

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  • Jairo Núñez
  • Carmen Elisa Flórez

Abstract

In spite of the rapid fertility transition experienced by most Latin American and Caribbean countries, teenage fertility has not changed at the same pace or in the same direction. Given that early childbearing is deleterious for both mother and child, we describe differentials in the levels and trends in teenage childbearing and analyze its proximate and socioeconomic determinants. We used Demographic and Health Surveys data from six LAC countries for which data are available for the second half of the 1990s: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Peru. Teenage fertility trends indicate different patterns of change across countries by area of residence. However, in most countries teenage fertility has increased in rural areas but declined or remained constant in urban areas. Different contributions of marriage, proper use of family planning methods, and premarital births to teenage fertility behavior are reflected in differentials in unmarried parenthood across countries. Socioeconomic determinants are analyzed through simple logit model, multilevel analysis, and continuous-time hazard rate models. These analyses improve on prior research on LAC countries by including contextual/regional factors, isolating the effects into differentials in sexual activity and rates of childbearing, and by comparing the socioeconomic determinants of the timing of first birth and premarital birth. This research demonstrates that the effect of socioeconomic variables on the rate of childbearing can act through the timing of initial sexual intercourse (such as education, socioeconomic conditions of the households and area or residence) or through the timing of first birth (such as socialization in a female-headed family, availability - cceptability - use of family planning, and regional - country conditions, such as cultural and inherent characteristics).

Suggested Citation

  • Jairo Núñez & Carmen Elisa Flórez, 2001. "Teenage Childbearing in Latin American Countries," Research Department Publications 3131, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  • Handle: RePEc:idb:wpaper:3131
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Lam & Suzanne Duryea, 1999. "Effects of Schooling on Fertility, Labor Supply, and Investments in Children, with Evidence from Brazil," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 34(1), pages 160-192.
    2. Torres Rivas, Edelberto, 1988. "Escépticos, narcisos, rebeldes: 6 estudios sobre la juventud," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 1378 edited by Flacso, May.
    3. Robert Michael & Nancy Tuma, 1985. "Entry into marriage and parenthood by young men and women: The influence of family background," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 22(4), pages 515-544, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Grant Miller, 2005. "Contraception as Development? New Evidence from Family Planning in Colombia," NBER Working Papers 11704, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Darwin Cortés & Juan Gallego & Darío Maldonado, 2011. "On the Design of Education Conditional Cash Transfer Programs and non Education Outcomes: The Case of Teenage Pregnancy," CESifo Working Paper Series 3531, CESifo.
    3. Eliana La Ferrara & Alberto Chong & Suzanne Duryea, 2012. "Soap Operas and Fertility: Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 1-31, October.
    4. Anna Sibilla Francesca DE PAOLI, 2010. "The effect of schooling on fertility, labor market participation and children’s outcomes, evidence from Ecuador," Departmental Working Papers 2010-30, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    5. Darwin Cortés & Carmen Elisa Flórez & Marta Carolina Ibarra & Daniel Martínez & Elvia Vargas Trujillo, 2016. "Educación de la Sexualidad, prácticas docentes y conocimientos de los estudiantes: Una evaluación del Programa de Educación para la Sexualidad y Construcción de Ciudadanía (PESCC)," Documentos de Trabajo 14541, Universidad del Rosario.
    6. Grant Miller, 2005. "Contraception as Development? New Evidence from Family Planning in Colombia," CID Working Papers 9, Center for International Development at Harvard University.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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