Family size, economics and child gender preference: a case study in the Nyeri district of Kenya

Abstract

Kenyan women have more children, especially in rural areas, than in most developing nations. This is widely believed to be an impediment to Kenya's economic development.Thus, factors influencing family size in the Kenyan context are important for its future. A brief review of economic theories of fertility leads to the conclusion that both economics and social/cultural factors must be considered simultaneously when examining factors that determine the number of children in a family. The need to do this is borne out in Kenya's situation by utilising responses from a random sample of rural households in the Nyeri district of Kenya. Economic and social/cultural factors intertwine to influence family sizes in this district. After providing a summary of the main statistical results from the survey, we use multiple regression analysis to explore the influences of a woman's age, level of education, whether she has outside employment, whether the family keeps livestock, whether she expresses a preference for more boys than girls, whether the family uses only family labour (including child labour) and the size of the farm, which is used as a proxy for family income.It was found that preference for male children has an important positive influence on family size in this district. Women were found to have greater preference for male children than their male counterparts possibly because of their fear of being disinherited if they do not produce an heir for their husbands. Preference for sons was also found in allocation of human capital resources at the household level in that the female respondents were found to have lower levels of education than their male counterparts. Various long-term policies are outlined that may help to reduce the number of offspring of women in Kenya.

Family Size in Colombia: Guessing or Planning? Intended vs. Actual Family Size in Colombia

“…They argue that, there is evidence confirming that son preference is prevalent among Hispanic women in the United States. Similar results are found in Kiriti and Tisdell (2005) who find that the strong son preference in Kenya is due to husband expecting to have male children in order to ensure the survival the family name. Consequently, a possible explanation of large families among these populations is that, couples keep on childbearing until they have a son.…”

“…There is an extensive literature on desired family size which gives us some ideas for understanding of the existence of unintended children (Leibenstein (1957);Becker (1960Becker ( , 1981; Becker and Lewis (1973);Schultz (1973) Haskell (1977; Unger and Molina (1999) and Kiriti and Tisdell (2005), among others). Becker (1960) and Becker and Lewis (1973) affirm that since people from low socioeconomic backgrounds do not have wide knowledge of birth control mechanisms, they tend to have more unintended children.…”

Incidence and cost estimate of treating pediatric adverse drug reactions in Lagos, Nigeria

“…Moreover, parents tend to seek healthcare earlier for male than for female children, 31 probably due to male child preference. 32 The proportion of children admitted due to suspected ADRs (0.6%) was half the proportion who developed ADRs while on admission (1.2%). This disparity may be as a result of the exclusion of mild ADRs from the admissions.…”

Growth aspirations of young informal micro-entrepreneurs in Nairobi, Kenya: A case study of the jua kali manufacturing sector

“…I therefore suggest that when it comes to opportunity, the role of social capital must be considered when examining the growth aspirations of entrepreneurs in developing countries. Moreover, since female entrepreneurs are often the ones most restricted by African cultural norms and expectations (Kiriti & Tisdell, 2005), it is critical to recognize that the impact of social capital may be very different for men than for women (Mungai & Ogot, 2012). Further considerations with regards to gender disparities in entrepreneurship and growth aspirations are discussed in the following section.…”

“…However, their entrepreneurial development is impeded by a wide range of constraints including the legal and regulatory systems and limited access to key resources, such as finance and land (Kiraka et al, 2013). They often face unfavourable opportunities and incentives when it comes to doing business, and must deal with culturally sanctioned biases that limit their participation in entrepreneurial activities (Kiriti & Tisdell, 2005;Mungai & Ogot, 2012). Moreover, women are more involved in the care economy, with greater household and childrearing responsibilities.…”