Fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa: Does remarriage matter?

John, Ben Malinga; Adjiwanou, Vissého

doi:10.1080/00324728.2021.1933148

Cited by 11 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…This is by no means the first investigation of extramarital fertility in LMICs. But many past studies have examined either premarital fertility (Harwood-Lejeune 2001;Clark, Koski, and Smith-Greenaway 2017) or postmarital fertility (John and Adjiwanou 2021), whereas this research considers both. There have been few multi-country studies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extramarital fertility in low- and middle-income countries

Bongaarts¹,

Casterline²

2022

DemRes

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BACKGROUNDIn most societies, childbearing is largely confined to women in formal marital unions, but in a subset of contemporary low-fertility Western societies, extramarital fertility has become common. However, extramarital fertility is often ignored in fertility research in contemporary low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). OBJECTIVETo document recent levels, trends, and differentials in extramarital fertility (both premarital and postmarital) in LMICs. METHODSWe employ Schoumaker's (2013) Stata program tfr2 to calculate two fertility measures from Demographic and Health Surveys in 63 countries: (1) the standard total fertility rate (TFR), which is based on all births in the three years before the survey date, and (2) the marital total fertility rate (MTFR), which is based on all births within marital unions in the three years before the survey date. The percentage of fertility that is extramarital (PEM) is estimated as 100 x (TFR-MTFR)/TFR. RESULTSThe unweighted average PEM for the most recent surveys in the 63 DHS countries equals 11.3%, with 7.9% premarital and 3.4% postmarital. By far the highest percentage premarital is found in southern Africa (43%) and the lowest in Asia/North Africa (0.9%). Postmarital fertility is most common in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. CONCLUSIONSChildbearing outside of marriage is an important feature of contemporary reproductive regimes in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. By contrast, less than 2% of births are extramarital in most Asian and North African societies. https://www.demographic-research.org CONTRIBUTION Extramarital fertility has social and economic consequences -for women, for their households, and for their children. We estimate, for the first time, the levels, trends, and differentials in both categories (premarital and postmarital) of extramarital fertility in LMICs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extramarital fertility in low- and middle-income countries

Bongaarts¹,

Casterline²

2022

DemRes

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“…Experiencing a union dissolution may impact the life course in several ways. For example, women who experience a union dissolution typically have lower fertility than those who remain in their first union (John and Adjiwanou 2021;Uddin and Hosain 2013;Van Bavel et al 2012). Moreover, not only whether but also when a union dissolution occurs is likely consequential (Meggiolaro and Ongaro 2010;Thomson et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indirect estimation of the timing of first union dissolution with incomplete marriage histories

John¹,

Nitsche²

2022

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“…Union dissolution and remarriage are common features of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) nuptiality regimes. In most countries, over 30 percent of first unions end in divorce (Clark and Brauner-Otto 2015;Reniers 2003;Tilson and Larsen 2000), and at least one-fifth of women aged 40-49 are married more than once (John and Adjiwanou 2022). The experience of union dissolution and the time individuals spend in and outside marriage are likely consequential for various social and demographic outcomes in Africa and Ben Malinga John is a PhD Student at Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and Stockholm University, and a Lecturer at Department of Population Studies, University of Malawi.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, women who experience union dissolution generally end up with significantly fewer children than women who remain in intact first unions (John and Adjiwanou 2022;Meggiolaro and Ongaro 2010;Thomson et al 2012). These differences are thought to be connected to reproductive time lost due to reproductive phases spent without a partner after a union dissolution (Davis and Blake 1956;Griffith, Koo, and Suchindran 1985;John and Adjiwanou 2022), among other. Indeed, the timing of union dissolution determines the ages at which individuals are removed from a setting where sexual intercourse is usually regular.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study in rural northern Burkina Faso (Guirkinger, Gross, and Platteau 2021) showed that 45 percent of women remarried immediately after a divorce, 75 percent did so within the first year, and 84 percent ware remarried within two years after a divorce. Finally, John and Adjiwanou (2022) estimated that in 18 out of 34 SSA countries, over 25 percent of ever-married women aged 40-49 had been married more than once, which further underscores that remarriage is common across SSA. Largely missing from this body of literature is a systematic analysis (country and period variation) of how long, on average, first unions persist among women who experience a union dissolution (either through divorce or widowhood) and how much time, on average, women spend outside marriage because of a union dissolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dynamics of Union Dissolution in Sub‐Saharan Africa

John¹,

Nitsche²

2022

Population & Development Rev

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Not only whether but also when a union ends and how long individuals remain unpartnered subsequently is consequential for social and demographic outcomes. However, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), information about the timing of union dissolution and the reproductive time "lost" due to union dissolution is lacking. We close this gap by applying standard indirect demographic techniques in a novel way to Demographic Health Survey data collected in 34 SSA countries to document (i) the level and timing of all-cause union dissolution and (ii) the time women spend outside of marriage due to union dissolution during their reproductive life course. Results revealed that in 28 out of 34 countries, over one-fifth of first unions end within 15 years, and in 14 out of 34 countries, the proportion of first unions ending within 25 years exceeds 40 percent. The average marital duration at first union dissolution varies between 4.8 and 9.4 years. The pace of remarriage is rapid across all countries, with the average duration between first union dissolution and first remarriage ranging between 0.2 and 2.9 years. The overall reproductive years lost to union dissolution vary between 1.3 and 5.3 years, and account for 4.0-16.3 percent of the total reproductive life expectancy. We discuss the implications of these dynamics for fertility outcomes in SSA.

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Fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa: Does remarriage matter?

Cited by 11 publications

References 49 publications

Extramarital fertility in low- and middle-income countries

Extramarital fertility in low- and middle-income countries

Indirect estimation of the timing of first union dissolution with incomplete marriage histories

Dynamics of Union Dissolution in Sub‐Saharan Africa

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