Fertility Levels, Trends, and Differentials in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s

Kirk, Dudley; Pillet, Bernard

doi:10.2307/172178

Cited by 153 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…This picture suggests that high fertility might have persisted in sub-Saharan African countries owing (mainly or partly) to limited female literacy in the region. Recent studies in different parts of less developed regions have corroborated this assumption indicating that female education exerts profoundly negative effect on fertility (Dharmalingam and Morgan 1996;Kirk and Pillet 1998;Capo-Chichi and Juarez 2001;Adhikari 2010;Bongaarts 2010;Lutz et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

A reassessment of the effects of female education and employment on fertility in Nigeria

Wusu¹

2013

Populationyearbook

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This paper reassesses the nexus between female education, employment and fertility in Nigeria. The four Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) that have been conducted in the country (1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008) were analysed. Between 1990 and 2008, the educational status of women improved appreciably and the proportion of illiterate women in the country declined from 57.2 to 35.8 per cent. Multivariate analysis suggests that female education was inversely related to the indicators of fertility (P<0.01). The association between working away from home and fertility indicators was negative in the pooled data (P<0.01), but this association was mixed in separate surveys. Self-employment manifested a positive relationship with the indicators of fertility (P<0.01). Female education remains a valid channel through which a sustainable fertility decline can be achieved in the country. A vigorous drive to promote female education in all parts of the country is recommended. Girl child education in the north should be stressed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

A reassessment of the effects of female education and employment on fertility in Nigeria

Wusu¹

2013

Populationyearbook

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“…In addition to the large literature that examines declines in total family size (Caldwell and Caldwell 2002;Caldwell, Orubuloye, and Caldwell 1992;Cleland, Onuoha, and Timaeus 1994;Cleland 2001;Cohen 1993;Garenne 2008;Garenne and Joseph 2002;Kirk and Pillet 1998), there is growing evidence of a more novel form of fertility change: the lengthening of birth intervals. It has been shown that birth intervals are now lengthening in a large number of populations across sub-Saharan Africa (Bongaarts and Casterline 2012;Moultrie, Sayi, and Timaeus 2012).…”

Section: Birth Intervals and Fertility Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Contraceptive use and lengthening birth intervals in rural and urban Eastern Africa

Towriss¹,

Timæus²

2018

DemRes

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“…The research literature that uses these data also tends to treat spacing and postponement as synonymous and to assume that women who want a birth later are motivated by the desire to space their births (Bongaarts 1991;Kirk and Pillet 1998;Westoff 1988). Thus, the standard description of these data does not precisely reflect the question put to the survey respondents.…”

Section: Prevention Spacing and Postponement Of Birthsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On Postponement and Birth Intervals

Timæus

Moultrie

2008

Population & Development Rev

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Much of the literature on fertility transition presumes that women birth control is practiced either to limit family size or to space births. This paper argues that women also use contraception to postpone pregnancy. Postponement is not synonymous with spacing. It arises when women delay their next birth for indefinite periods for reasons unrelated to the age of their youngest child, but without deciding not to have any more children. Postponement has a distinctive impact on the shape of birth interval distributions that differs from those of family size limitation, birth spacing, or a mixture of the two behaviours. Some populations, such as that in South Africa, have developed fertility regimes characterized by birth intervals far longer than can be accounted for by birth spacing. Postponement of further childbearing that eventually becomes permanent may be an important driver of the transition to lower fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Timaeus & Moultrie 3The main immediate motivation for using contraception is obvious: it is to avoid pregnancy, or at least to reduce the risk of conception associated with sexual intercourse. In other words, contraception is used for birth control. The reasons why women and their partners may wish to avoid pregnancy and childbearing are many and varied. However, much of the demographic literature on fertility transition classifies motives for birth control into two mutually exclusive and exhaustive theoretical categories -the limitation of family size and the spacing of births.This paper suggests that a third important motive exists for using contraception. It is to postpone or delay pregnancy and giving birth. Birth postponement is not synonymous with birth spacing. It is conceptually distinct and has a different impact on birth interval distributions. Fertility regimes characterized by very long birth intervals cannot arise from spacing but can only be explained by widespread postponement of births achieved by contraceptive and other means. Postponement can have a substantial impact on aggregate fertility. In particular, it may be an important driver of fertility decline in Africa.The arguments just summarized are developed in successive sections of the paper. The first of these critically reviews the literature on fertility intentions and motivations for contraceptive use. It argues that the substantive, measurement, and programmatic concerns of demography have tended to direct researchers' attention away from careful consideration of reasons for practicing birth control other than family size limitation. While the importance of distinguishing postponement of births from spacing of births has been pointed out before, it has not become part of the commonplace wisdom of everyone studying fertility transition.The second substantive section of the paper considers birth interval distributions. It argues that the impact of contraceptive use on the duration-specific hazard of giving birth differs depending on whether contraception is being used for stopping, spacing, or post...

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Fertility Levels, Trends, and Differentials in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s

Cited by 153 publications

References 21 publications

A reassessment of the effects of female education and employment on fertility in Nigeria

A reassessment of the effects of female education and employment on fertility in Nigeria

Contraceptive use and lengthening birth intervals in rural and urban Eastern Africa

On Postponement and Birth Intervals

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