The interplay of race/ethnicity and education in fertility patterns

Abstract

This study examines the racial/ethnic and educational disparities in fertility for U.S.women born during 1960-80. Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth from 2006 to 2017, we apply a regression-based approach to estimate 1) cohort total fertility rates, 2) parity progression ratios, and 3) parity-specific probability of having a birth by age, for non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics by educational attainments. We find that compared to their White counterparts, Black and Hispanic women with less than a high school education have higher fertility. However, among college educated women, Blacks have the lowest fertility levels, whereas Hispanics have the highest. The difference in fertility between Black and White college educated women is mainly driven by the smaller proportion of Black mothers having second births. We find little evidence that the observed racial disparities in fertility levels across educational levels are driven by differences in fertility timing.