Teen Fertility and Gender Inequality in Education

Previous studies in developed countries have found a micro-level association between teenage fertility and girls’ educational attainment but researchers still debate the policy implications of these associations. First, are these associations causal? Second, are they substantively important enough, at the macro-level, to warrant policy attention? In other words, how much would policy efforts to reduce unintended pregnancy among teens pay off in terms of narrowing national gender gaps in educational attainment? Third, under what contexts are these payoffs likely to be important? This paper focuses on the latter two questions. We begin by proposing a contextual hypothesis to explain cross-national variation in the gender-equity payoffs from reducing unintended teen fertility. We then test this hypothesis, using DHS data from 38 countries.gender equity, life tables, population and development, teen fertility

Demographic transitions and children's resources: growth or divergence?

How do fertility transitions affect children’s resource endowments? Existing perspectives provide two seemingly different answers: Dilution arguments focusing on family size predict an average gain, while divergence arguments focusing on family structure predict increased inequality. We attempt to integrate these two perspectives, to show how changes in family size and structure additively and interactively shape the levels and inequality in children’s resource endowments. Failure to consider these interactions can severely bias estimates of the magnitude or even direction of the influences of fertility transitions. An empirical illustration is provided with Cameroon data.children’s resources, decomposition, family size, family structure, fertility transition, inequality, resource dilution, simulation

Confiage d’enfants et nivellement des inégalités scolaires au Cameroun, 1960-1995

La pratique du confiage d’enfants peut-elle servir à niveler les inégalités scolaires en Afrique ? Nous postulons que cet effet de nivellement dépend de trois paramètres du confiage, à savoir sa prévalence, sa distribution et son effet bénéfique sur l’éducation des enfants confiés. Nous utilisons des biographies familiales pour évaluer ces trois paramètres au Cameroun. On constate que, bien que le confiage reste courant, son effet sur la réduction des inégalités scolaires est limité, puisque, en termes d’accès et en termes d’impact scolaire, cette pratique ne profite pas d’abord aux plus pauvres. Ces résultats laissent croire que les politiques de réduction des inégalités scolaires en Afrique ne peuvent pas miser exclusivement sur les solidarités informelles mises en oeuvre à travers le confiage.Can the practice of child fostering help to level out educational inequalities in Africa? The authors of this study hypothesize that this levelling effect is dependent on three parameters of child fostering, that is, its prevalence, distribution, and beneficial effect on the education of fostered children. The researchers use family histories to evaluate these three parameters in Cameroon. They find that, although fostering is still common, it has only a limited effect in reducing educational inequalities because, in terms of access to the fostering network and its educational impact, it does not primarily help the most disadvantaged. These findings suggest that policies to reduce educational inequalities in Africa cannot solely count on the informal networks of solidarity set up through fostering

Confiage d’enfants et nivellement des inégalités scolaires au Cameroun, 1960-1995

La pratique du confiage d’enfants peut-elle servir à niveler les inégalités scolaires en Afrique ? Nous postulons que cet effet de nivellement dépend de trois paramètres du confiage, à savoir sa prévalence, sa distribution et son effet bénéfique sur l’éducation des enfants confiés. Nous utilisons des biographies familiales pour évaluer ces trois paramètres au Cameroun. On constate que, bien que le confiage reste courant, son effet sur la réduction des inégalités scolaires est limité, puisque, en termes d’accès et en termes d’impact scolaire, cette pratique ne profite pas d’abord aux plus pauvres. Ces résultats laissent croire que les politiques de réduction des inégalités scolaires en Afrique ne peuvent pas miser exclusivement sur les solidarités informelles mises en oeuvre à travers le confiage.Can the practice of child fostering help to level out educational inequalities in Africa? The authors of this study hypothesize that this levelling effect is dependent on three parameters of child fostering, that is, its prevalence, distribution, and beneficial effect on the education of fostered children. The researchers use family histories to evaluate these three parameters in Cameroon. They find that, although fostering is still common, it has only a limited effect in reducing educational inequalities because, in terms of access to the fostering network and its educational impact, it does not primarily help the most disadvantaged. These findings suggest that policies to reduce educational inequalities in Africa cannot solely count on the informal networks of solidarity set up through fostering

Teen Fertility and Gender Inequality in Education: A Contextual Hypothesis

Previous studies in developed countries have found a micro-level association between teenage fertility and girls' educational attainment but researchers still debate the policy implications of these associations. First, are these associations causal? Second, are they substantively important enough, at the macro-level, to warrant policy attention? In other words, how much would policy efforts to reduce unintended pregnancy among teens pay off in terms of narrowing national gender gaps in educational attainment? Third, under what contexts are these payoffs likely to be important? This paper focuses on the latter two questions. We begin by proposing a contextual hypothesis to explain cross-national variation in the gender-equity payoffs from reducing unintended teen fertility. We then test this hypothesis, using DHS data from 38 countries

Demographic transitions and children's resources: growth or divergence?

How do fertility transitions affect children's resource endowments? Existing perspectives provide two seemingly different answers: Dilution arguments focusing on family size predict an average gain, while divergence arguments focusing on family structure predict increased inequality. We attempt to integrate these two perspectives, to show how changes in family size and structure additively and interactively shape the levels and inequality in children's resource endowments. Failure to consider these interactions can severely bias estimates of the magnitude or even direction of the influences of fertility transitions. An empirical illustration is provided with Cameroon data