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Fertility and Well-Being Effects of an Aggressive Family Planning Policy in Peru in the 1990s: A Reweighting Estimator With a Contaminated Treatment Group Approach

  • 2012
  • Working Paper
Byker, Tanya & Gutierrez, Italo

Publisher/Institution: University of Michigan

Abstract: In the mid-1990’s President Fujimori of Peru initiated an aggressive family planning program with the stated purpose of reducing widespread poverty. While female sterilization was an official element of the program, anecdotal evidence suggests that health workers were given large sterilization quotas and reportedly used bribes, coercion, and even force to meet them. While the details of the program were not public, the Peruvian Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) provide evidence of a large increase in sterilizations during the suspected program window. We address three research questions: First, who was affected by the sterilization campaign? Second, what was the impact of the campaign on fertility? Third, what, if any, impact did the campaign have on household well-being? While the DHS provides information on numbers and timing of sterilizations, it does not directly state who was sterilized due to the Fujimori campaign and who would have chosen sterilization in the absence of the policy. We use a rich set of controls from the DHS with a reweighting procedure modified to account for this “contaminated” treatment group. We find substantial impacts of the campaign on fertility, but small or insignificant impacts on other household outcomes including mother’s employment and child health and education. Despite a documented unmet need for contraception, we conclude that lower fertility is not associated with improvements in household welfare when sterilizations are forced.

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Fertility and Well-Being Effects of an Aggressive Family Planning Policy in Peru in the 1990s: A Reweighting Estimator With a Contaminated Treatment Group Approach

  • 2012
  • Working Paper
Byker, Tanya & Gutierrez, Italo

Publisher/Institution: University of Michigan

Abstract: In the mid-1990’s President Fujimori of Peru initiated an aggressive family planning program with the stated purpose of reducing widespread poverty. While female sterilization was an official element of the program, anecdotal evidence suggests that health workers were given large sterilization quotas and reportedly used bribes, coercion, and even force to meet them. While the details of the program were not public, the Peruvian Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) provide evidence of a large increase in sterilizations during the suspected program window. We address three research questions: First, who was affected by the sterilization campaign? Second, what was the impact of the campaign on fertility? Third, what, if any, impact did the campaign have on household well-being? While the DHS provides information on numbers and timing of sterilizations, it does not directly state who was sterilized due to the Fujimori campaign and who would have chosen sterilization in the absence of the policy. We use a rich set of controls from the DHS with a reweighting procedure modified to account for this “contaminated” treatment group. We find substantial impacts of the campaign on fertility, but small or insignificant impacts on other household outcomes including mother’s employment and child health and education. Despite a documented unmet need for contraception, we conclude that lower fertility is not associated with improvements in household welfare when sterilizations are forced.

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The Impact of Early Childbearing on Schooling and Cognitive Skills Among Young Women in Madagascar

  • December 2014
  • Working Paper
Herrera, Catalina & Sahn, David

Publication Title: CERDI

Abstract: Female secondary school attendance has recently increased in sub-Saharan Africa; however, the higher likelihood of attending school after puberty has put girls at risk of becoming pregnant while attending school. Using a panel survey designed to capture the transition from adolescence to early adulthood, we analyze whether teenage pregnancy contributes to lower school attainment and cognitive skills among young women in Madagascar. We address the endogeneity between fertility and education decisions by instrumenting early pregnancy with the young woman’s access to condoms at the community level, and her exposure to condoms since she was 15 years old. We control for an extensive set of community social infrastructure characteristics to deal with the endogeneity of program placement. Our instrumental variable results show that having a child increases by 42 percent the likelihood of dropping out of school and decreases the chances of completing lower secondary school by 44 percent. This school-pregnancy related dropout is associated with a reduction of 1.1 standard deviations in the Math and French test scores. These results are consistent with hazard model estimations: delaying the first birth by a year increases the probability of current enrollment by 5 percent and the Math and French test scores by 0.2 standard deviations.

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Researcher Resources

  • November 2014

Communication Tips | Data Sources | Data Visualization | Educational Resources | Relevant Events | Stakeholder Listings

COMMUNICATION TIPS

How to write a science news story based on a research paper

Read the Guardian’s how-to guide for helpful hints on translating research to news.

Writing Research: Clarify Your Abstract
Writing a good abstract is key to getting your paper accepted for publications and presentations. Click here for a helpful guide on improving your abstract.

PopPov PowerPoint Template
Download a blank PopPov PowerPoint template for presentations.

Webinar on Making Effective Presentations About Research
On Dec. 20, 2011, Julie DaVanzo of RAND (julie@rand.org) conducted a webinar on how to make effective presentations about research. The one-hour training included how to: select material, develop and signal the structure, incorporate appropriate graphics, reorganize and correct common problems of chart design, design effective slides, present multivariate analyses, and wrap-up a presentation.
  • Download (right-click and save) the archived recording of the webinar to view it. (NOTE: Recording playback requires Flash 9.0.28 or higher. If your computer does not have Flash installed, you will be prompted to install it before playback begins).
  • Download the PowerPoint presentation notes.

Webinar on Best Practices for Presenters
Andy Goodman gave an hour-long session on how to more effectively communicate data-driven research at the Fifth Annual PopPov Research Conference.
  • Download Andy Goodman’s book, Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes.

DATA SOURCES

DATA VISUALIZATION

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

RELEVANT EVENTS

Download a listing of upcoming events that are of interest to the Population and Poverty Research Network.

2015-2016 Calendar of Policy Events

2017-2018 Calendar of Policy Events

STAKEHOLDER LISTINGS

These stakeholder listings serve to facilitate the dissemination of research results and recommendations to the appropriate stakeholders in government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.

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Does Trade Reduce Infant Mortality Rates? Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa

  • 2013-2015
  • Project
Panda, Pallavi, University of California, Riverside

Study: “Does Trade Reduce Infant Mortality Rates? Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa”
PI: Panda, Pallavi
Affiliation: University of California, Riverside
Funding Partner: IIE
Project Dates:
Start: 2013
End: 2015
Data Source(s): DHS
Method(s): difference-in-difference; mother fixed effects; birth year fixed effects
Geographic Location(s): Sub-Saharan Africa

Description: Trade has been posited as a key factor in economic development, and economists have argued that trade leads to higher income growth rates. Many developing countries have adopted increasingly open trade policies with the objective of spurring growth, though there is little evidence of the effect of trade on child health. Using Demographic and Health Surveys from 30 sub-Saharan African countries, this research examines the impact of trade liberalization on opportunities for women, and subsequently on the decrease of infant mortality. Examining the average difference in probability of death of children born to the same mother before and after the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) in both AGOA affected and non-AGOA affected countries, the study finds infant mortality falls by about 0.7 to 1.3 percentage points and that educated women and rural women experience significant decreases in infant death after AGOA. However, both poor and nonpoor experience a decline of similar magnitude, implying that trade does not reinforce inequality in health outcomes.

Research Outputs:
Panda, Pallavi. (2014). Does Trade reduce Infant Mortality? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa (Doctoral Dissertation). University of California, Riverside, CA.

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Population Dynamics and Economic Development: Elements of a Research Agenda

  • July 2005
  • Report

In its work, the Working Group placed priority on research that would be most likely to inform current policy questions about how to allocate scarce resources to achieve higher rates of economic growth and a faster reduction in poverty. This is done with the recognition that orienting research in this manner may miss excellent, innovative ideas for research on historical trends and fundamental relationships that may not appear to be associated with “policy variables,” as currently defined. Thus, this research agenda makes no claim to represent the breadth of useful and important social science related to elucidating relationships between economic, demographic, and health variables.

The Working Group identified three main substantive areas under which lines of empirical research would be useful for the medium-term policy agenda. For each, investment in data collection and application of appropriate research strategies promise to lead to more definitive and generalizable findings than has been possible in the past. These substantive priorities can be summarized:

  1. Given the projected trends in fertility and mortality changes, what are the implications for economic growth and income distribution and the incidence of poverty?
  2. How does investment in reproductive health affect economic conditions at the household level, including the productivity, labor force participation and savings behavior of women, children, and households?
  3. How do different types of investments in reproductive health affect the health of women and children? How does the type and organization of services affect their effectiveness, including ability to reach poor and vulnerable populations?

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Travel Funds Available

With funding from the Hewlett Foundation, travel funding is available for researchers to attend or present at conferences, policy workshops, and technical meetings, or to engage with PopPov research in other ways. Priority is given to PopPov researchers, as well as PopPov core thematic issues and sharing of research results to policy audiences.

Applications for travel funding will be awarded on a rolling basis, but must be submitted before June 1, 2017 for travel through June 30, 2017. If you are interested in applying for travel funding, please send a written request to Hanna Christianson (hchristianson@prb.org) with the following information:

  • Purpose of trip, including dates and location
  • A description of the work you will be presenting
  • Estimate of costs
  • Amount requested and amount being paid by other sources

Additional information may be requested if the above is not sufficient to ensure legitimacy and relevance of the request to the project objectives. All travel awards are subject to the availability of funds. Please direct any questions to Hanna Christianson (hchristianson@prb.org).


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    Call for Papers Deadline: May 15, 2016
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    Call for Papers Deadline: February 01, 2016
    German Institute for Economic Research
    The 30th Annual Conference of the European Society for Population Economics (ESPE) will be held June 15-18, 2016 in Berlin Germany.
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    Fellowship Opportunity Deadline: January 15, 2016
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    The European Association for Population Studies invites contributions to the next European Population Conference to be held in Mainz, Germany, Aug. 31 – Sept. 3, 2016 (EPC2016). EPC2016 is a general scientific population conference where the topic “Demographic Change and Policy Implications” will receive special attention.
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    Conference Announcement Deadline: October 21, 2015
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    Call for Proposals Deadline: February 23, 2015
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  • 2015-2016 Additional Insights International Research Fellowship

    Call for Applications Deadline: February 16, 2015
    New York University Global TIES for Children Center
    New York University’s newly established internationally focused center, Global TIES for Children: Transforming Intervention Effectiveness and Scale, is pleased to announce the 2015-2016 Additional Insights International Research Fellowship. Led by Dr. Larry Aber, with support from the Hewlett Foundation, the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund at the World Bank, and Innovations for Poverty Action, we are seeking applicants from around the world who are interested not only in whether interventions improve the lives and well-being of low-income women and children, but for whom, why, and where do they do so. This fellowship seeks to generate actionable evidence through using state-of-the-art advanced research methodologies to evaluate variation in, and mechanisms of, program impact while also investing in future research leaders through mentorship, professional development, and training activities. All application components must be received via email, addressed to Kate Schwartz, Project Director, at kjs440@nyu.edu by 5pm EST, Monday, February 16th.
  • UN Chief of Demographic Analysis Branch Job Opening

    Job Opportunity Deadline: February 09, 2015
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    The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) research programme aims to generate insights in and a better understanding of processes that determine and strengthen the sexual and reproductive health of people, as well as their ability to claim their sexual and reproductive rights. The programme strives to contribute to improving and innovating SRHR policies and practices, with a special focus on empowering young people and key populations as specified per call.
  • Call for Submissions: 2015 Evaluation Design Contest

    Call for submissions Deadline: February 02, 2015
    EASST
    The EASST Collaborative invites researchers living in East Africa to submit research designs focused on the rigorous evaluation of a social or economic development program implemented in the region. Researchers must be based in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, or Uganda. Proposed designs will be evaluated by EASST, and the top ideas will be considered for research support. The full request for applications call can be downloaded below. Please submit your application file online at: http://tinyurl.com/Submittable-EASST-2015-EDC. The deadline for submission for the Evaluation Design Contest is 11:59 pm U.S. Pacific Time on Monday, 2 February 2015.
  • Fertility Preferences in Asia

    Call for Proposals Deadline: January 31, 2015
    Asian Population Association Scientific Committee on Fertility Preferences
    The Asian Population Association’s [APA] Scientific Committee on Fertility Preferences invites you to submit papers to a special satellite session held on July 27th 2015 alongside the APA Conference in Kuala Lumpur. The objective of this satellite session is to produce a series of national reports concerning the ‘state-of-the-art’ of research on fertility preferences in countries across Asia. If you would like to propose to write a report and attend the workshop, please write to stuart.basten@spi.ox.ac.uk with the following information by January 31st 2015: Name: Job title: Institution: Web page: Country you propose to write a report for: Your three most relevant publications:
  • 12th International Conference on Urban Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Call for Abstracts Deadline: January 09, 2015
    International Society for Urban Health and the Bangladesh Urban Health Network
    The International Society for Urban Health and the Bangladesh Urban Health Network present the 12th International Conference on Urban Health to take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from March 9-12, 2015. The over-arching theme of the conference is Urban Health for a Sustainable Future: The Post 2015 Agenda. Deadline for late-breaking abstracts is January 9, 2015.
  • Research Grants for Alumni of the Hewlett Dissertation Fellowship

    Call for Submission Deadline: January 08, 2015
    PRB/IIE
    The Population Reference Bureau is pleased to announce a new research grant opportunity for the Alumni of the Hewlett Dissertation Fellowships in Population, Reproductive Health and Economic Development.
  • Economic Demography Workshop at PAA

    Call for Submission Deadline: December 31, 2014
    PAA
    Call for Papers for the 2015 Economic Demography Workshop at the Population Association of America Annual Meeting.

PopPov News

  • After June 1, 2017, no new content will be added to poppov.org

    June 01, 2017
    Starting June 1, 2017, all new PopPov materials will be located on the Population and Poverty (PopPov) Research Network project page located on the Population Reference Bureau website. The PopPov website (poppov.org) is still fully searchable, with content dating back to 2006.
  • Travel Funds Available

    Resource June 01, 2017
    With funding from the Hewlett Foundation, travel funding is available for researchers to attend or present at conferences, policy workshops, and technical meetings, or to engage with PopPov research in other ways.
  • PopPov: Forging Research Partnerships

    Video April 26, 2017
    PopPov has supported a global group of researchers looking at how population dynamics affect economic outcomes. This video follows the academic and professional successes that PopPov-funded researchers have experienced over their 10-year history.
  • Children and Household Risk Management

    Project Report March 06, 2017
    A project report on two interrelated Fafo research projects, with special focus given to the two issues of child mobility and sibling diversification.
  • Stakeholder Listings

    Resource February 01, 2017
    The PopPov Stakeholder Listings serve to facilitate the dissemination of research results and recommendations to the appropriate stakeholders in government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.
  • IUSSP International Population Conference

    Call for Papers December 15, 2016
    Members of the PopPov Research Network are encouraged to submit papers to the Cape Town IUSSP conference from October 29 – November 4, 2017. The Hewlett Foundation has offered to provide some travel grants for people involved in sessions related to the PopPov agenda of promoting research on the interaction of population dynamics, reproductive health, and economic development.
  • PopPov Project Map

    Resource May 01, 2016
    The PopPov Project Map is a visual representation of the countries where the PopPov network of researchers have studied social, health, and economic issues. You can click on the red pins to learn more about projects by location.
  • Invest in Adolescent Girls for Health & Sustainable Development: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America

    Briefing March 31, 2016
    Research scientists will share the latest findings on interventions that contribute to better health and educational attainment for adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The briefing will also explore how increased human capital of adolescent girls can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Communicating Research: Policymakers’ Perspective

    Report March 01, 2016
    This policy brief summarizes policymakers’ perspectives on what constitutes barriers to evidence-informed policymaking. It also presents strategies for making research results more accessible to high-level policymakers at the country level, based on what they say they want as well as evidence about what information policymakers can and do use in policymaking. Finally, the brief includes examples of how PopPov-supported researchers addressed policy-relevant questions and applied some of the outreach strategies that policymakers suggest.
  • ICFP Preconference Workshop on the Demographic Dividend

    Workshop January 25, 2016
    This workshop will tackle the opportunities and challenges related to achieving the demographic dividend, especially in countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and will equip attendees with information and skills to contribute to moving the demographic dividend agenda forward. Speakers will discuss metrics and methodologies used to quantify economic impacts and how to effectively engage with policy audiences and other stakeholders on the demographic dividend.
  • African Population Conference Preconference Workshop on Effective Reporting of Demographic Dividend Research

    Workshop November 29, 2015
    The Population Reference Bureau (PRB), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Union for African Population Studies (UAPS) will bring together journalists and communications professionals from across sub-Saharan Africa for a day-long workshop in advance of the 7th African Population Conference. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about key concepts of the demographic dividend, consider its relevance to local, national, and international news, and interview researchers at the conference.
  • 35 Years of Matlab MCH and Family Planning

    Panel November 11, 2015
    Despite global spread of reproductive health and family planning programs, little is known about medium and long-term effects on the women who benefited from family planning and their children. This panel will review recent research from a project that examines causal evidence of the impact of the Matlab Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning Program (MCH-FP) over 35 years after the start of the program.
  • PopPov Researchers Awarded Grants From NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development

    Grant July 01, 2015
    NWO-WOTRO Science for Global Development has awarded funding to five projects within the research program Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Two researchers from the PopPov Research Initiative have projects that received awards, including Dr. Jocelyn Finlay, Harvard University, for empowering young women in Bujumbura to improve their sexual and reproductive health and rights, and claim to their rights; and Professor Gervais Beninguisse for sexual and reproductive health of youth and adults with disabilities in Bujumbura.
  • Evidence Can Help Make Sustainable Development Investments Strategic

    News June 23, 2015
    In June 2015, the Population and Poverty (PopPov) Conference on Population, Reproductive Health, and Economic Development hosted researchers to present results that have been supported through these partnerships, as well as through other sources.
  • 2015 Methods Workshop on Women’s Economic Empowerment

    Workshop June 01, 2015
    The Methods Workshop at the 2015 PopPov Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia examined Women’s Economic Empowerment and Development: Issues in Measurement and Defining Causal Impact. The objectives included defining women’s economic empowerment, as well as a discussion of the complexity involved in measuring women’s economic impact and the existing evidence on the causal impact of policies, programs, and development outcomes. The workshop was organized by Sarah Baird, with an introduction from Takyiwaa Manuh and presentations by Amber Peterman and Niklas Buehren.
  • Capstone PopPov Research Conference

    Conference June 01, 2015
    The Population and Poverty (PopPov) Research Network’s Capstone Research Conference on Population, Reproductive Health, and Economic Development will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia June 24-26. This Conference will bring together academic researchers, funders, and policymakers from around the globe who are interested in how population dynamics impact economics outcomes. The agenda includes seven paper sessions covering topics ranging from “Evaluative Strategies for Empowering Women and Girls” to “Economic Activity, Employment, and Income.” A pre-Conference methods workshop will examine issues in measurement and defining causal impact in the field of women’s economic empowerment and development. This Conference will provide opportunities to learn about ongoing and completed research on population, reproductive health, and economic development, summarize policy-relevant research results, reflect on the achievements of the PopPov Research Initiative, and discuss the future of the field. Throughout the week, the PRB team will tweet from the conference using the hashtag #PopPov15. Follow @PopPovNetwork for the latest PopPov Research Network research, news, and opportunities.
  • PopPov Pop Quiz Blog by Helena Choi

    Blog June 01, 2015
    Helena Choi, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s program officer for the PopPov Network, wrote a blog titled “PopPov Pop Quiz” highlighting the upcoming PopPov Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Read Helena’s reflection on the past ten years of the PopPov Initiative, and how the PopPov Conferences have contributed to the Initiative.
  • Two Award Recipients for Research Grants for Alumni of the Hewlett Dissertation Fellowships in Population, Reproductive Health and Economic Development

    Award May 01, 2015
    The Population Reference Bureau is pleased to announce two recipients of the research grant award for the Alumni of the Hewlett Dissertation Fellowships in Population, Reproductive Health and Economic Development. This year’s Alumni Research grants were awarded to the following researchers: Shamma Adeeb Alam (University of Washington 2012 – 2014 Fellow) for the project “Do Community Health Workers Lead to Improved Health Awareness and Increased Use of Health Technology among Individuals? Evidence Using Experimental Data from Uganda” and Catalina Herrera-Almanza (Cornell University 2012 – 2014 Fellow) for research on “Intergenerational Effects of Family Planning Programs: Evidence from Madagascar.”
  • Reproductive Rights as Economic Empowerment for Women and Girls

    Infographic March 17, 2015
    Over 60 people attended PopPov’s parallel event during the 59th annual UN Commission on the Status of Women. The panel, “Rights Make Might! Reproductive Rights as Economic Empowerment for Women and Girls,” explored how access to quality reproductive health services protect and improve the health and economic well-being of women and girls. Researchers Anne Khasakhala, Catalina Herrera Almanza, and Amber Peterman shared some of their findings. The event was co-sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). Kate Gilmore (Deputy Executive Director, UNFPA) and Sarah Degnan Kambou (President, ICRW) provided comments affirming the importance of reproductive health to promote economic empowerment. Click the link above for more information on rights and women’s economic empowerment.
  • UNESCO MOST Regional Meeting

    Conference February 26, 2015
    PRB hosted a panel at the UNESCO Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme East Africa Regional Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on February 26, 2015. Researchers from the PopPov Research Network shared policy-relevant findings with ministers of social development and key decision makers from the East African Community. Panelists included: Joseph Babigumira, Anne Khasakhala, Dieudonné Muhoza, and Marlene Lee. Visit the link above for more information on the UNESCO MOST Programme and the Regional Meeting.
  • Reproductive Health and Economic Well-Being in East Africa

    Research Brief February 23, 2015
    This PopPov research brief examines how investments in women’s and children’s health contribute to economic development. The research focuses on sub-Saharan Africa with an emphasis on including researchers and institutions from the continent as partners. One of the aims is to generate research findings that could be translated into program and policy recommendations for near-term use.
  • UN Commission on the Status of Women

    Panel Discussion February 02, 2015
    On March 17, 2015, PRB will host a parallel event during the 59th annual UN Commission on the Status of Women. The panel, “Rights Make Might! Reproductive Rights as Economic Empowerment for Women and Girls,” will explore how access to quality reproductive health services protect and improve the health and economic well-being of women and girls. Research supported by the Hewlett Foundation’s Population and Poverty Research Initiative demonstrates that delaying childbirth, greater spacing between children, and good obstetric care supports women’s continued school enrollment, participation in the labor force, and economic productivity. Ensuring the right to access reproductive health care empowers women! Date: March 17, 2015 Time: 12:30 PM ET Location: Church Center of the United Nations – 777 1st Avenue, East 44th Street, New York, NY 10017 – 10th Floor Learn more about the 59th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women at http://goo.gl/Xo2ddj.
  • A Review of Behavioral Economics in Reproductive Health

    Review Paper January 20, 2015
    The Behavioral Economics in Reproductive Health Initiative has recently published a review paper that presents a framework for applying behavioral economics to family planning and reproductive health (FPRH), and sets the agenda for future research. The researchers found that while many of the behavorial economics tools used in public health and policy interventions have not yet been tested in the context of reproductive health, there is great potential for the application of behavioral economics to FPRH. Read the full review paper, “A Review of Behavorial Economics in Reproductive Health.”
  • Maternal Mortality in Gambia

    Video November 21, 2014
    Maternal mortality in Gambia is nearly 60 times higher than in Norway. A research collaboration between the University of Oslo and the Gambian healthcare system aims to halve it. Apollon, the award winning magazine from the University of Oslo, features a new video on Johanne Sundby’s work addressing this issue.
  • Communicating Research to Policymakers: Researchers’ Experiences

    Research Brief October 31, 2014
    Despite increased investments in communication resources, researchers continue to encounter challenges in sharing their findings with policymakers. This new PopPov research brief addresses these challenges and highlights the experiences of four research teams who communicated findings from studies supported under the PopPov initiative.
  • Hewlett Foundation Renews Support for PopPov Secretariat

    July 18, 2014
    The Population Reference Bureau will begin a new stage in its partnership with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Population and Poverty Research Initiative. With renewed funding from the Hewlett Foundation, PRB will shift its focus outward from the PopPov Network to engage policy audiences with results from PopPov projects and related research and to build researchers’ and advocates’ capacity to communicate these results.
  • Closing Conference of the DEMTREND Program

    January 01, 2014
    The Closing Conference of the DEMTREND Program took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on October 28-30, 2013. The Conference was organized by the Équilibres & Populations (E&P) regional office. It convened researchers, donor representatives, NGOs and public leaders to address the economic impacts of demographic and migratory trends in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to discuss the dissemination tools needed to inform the policymakers in the region and the general public. The objective of the Conference was to share the results of the analytical work carried out under the DEMTREND Program, which was funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
  • A Cross-Sectional Study of Abortion in Burkina Faso

    Research Article January 01, 2014
    Patrick Ilboudo co-authored a recently published study in Health Policy and Planning that looks at both the costs and consequences of induced and spontaneous abortions and complications for women in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
  • Demographic Dividend Macroeconomic Simulation Model

    January 01, 2014
    The World Bank recently held a meeting in July 2013 at its headquarters in Washington, DC, to discuss the Demographic Dividend. David Canning, Joshua Wilde, Neelima Ramaraju, and Mahesh Karra’s “Demographic Dividend Macroeconomic Simulation Model” was presented in the meeting. It draws on a model developed in a project by Ashraf, Weil, and Wilde funded as part of the Hewlett PopPov Initiative.
  • Eighth Annual PopPov Conference Blog: Breakfast with Champions of Economic Development

    Blog January 01, 2014
    At the Eighth Annual PopPov Conference on Population, Reproductive Health, and Economic Development in Nairobi, Kenya, Marlene Lee sat down with Andrew Foster of Brown University and Paul Schultz of Yale University, and discussed an important topic for researchers: the data currently being used to analyze questions about reproductive health and economic outcomes at the individual and household level. Many researchers use the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to analyze these relationships, while others apply the gold standard of evaluation: randomized controlled trials. In this blog post, Lee provides insights from Schultz and Foster on the ability of datasets like the DHS to analyze these relationships, and the future of analysis in the economic development field.
  • Eighth Annual PopPov Conference Blog: Tools for Bringing Research to Policymakers at the PopPov Conference on Population, Reproductive Health, and Economic Development

    Blog January 01, 2014
    On Jan. 25, 2014, four senior-level researchers and donors opened the final day of the Eighth Annual PopPov Conference by sharing the strategies they have used for bringing research to policy and provoking thoughtful discussion. Peter da Costa, development consultant, facilitated the panel which included Jan Monteverde Haakonsen, Research Council of Norway; Chimaraoke Izugbara, African Population Health and Research Center (APHRC); Susan Rich, PRB; and Veronique Filippi, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The group addressed one of the core goals of the PopPov initiative: using evidence generated by PopPov researchers to inform policy. Panelists and conference attendees brought up the many challenges that both researchers and funders continue to confront in the pursuit of bringing research to policymakers.
  • Eighth Annual PopPov Conference Blog: The Demographic Dividend, Revisited

    Blog January 01, 2014
    The possibility of a demographic dividend is a great subject of debate in discussions of population and development issues in sub-Saharan Africa. The demographic evolution on the continent is marked by striking contrasts between, on the one hand, the rapid decline of mortality levels (especially infant and child mortality), and on the other, the slow erosion of high fertility levels. This contrast contributes to accelerating population growth in the region and does not bode rapid demographic change in the future. This, however, does not prevent some experts from having an optimistic vision of the demographic future of the continent.
  • Eighth Annual PopPov Conference Blog: “Research TO Policy?”: Reflections on a Persistently Intriguing Debate

    Blog January 01, 2014
    On the final day of the 2014 PopPov Conference, Peter da Costa facilitated a panel on bringing research to policy makers. The panel included high-level researchers and funders who shared their insight on harnessing research to engage policy spaces. To learn more about the panel, read Dr. da Costa’s blog.
  • Engaging with Stakeholders on the Issue of Teenage Pregnancy

    Research Presentation January 01, 2014
    Nicola Branson, a member of the research team on the Fertility Timing and Women’s Economic Outcomes in South Africa project headed by Murray Leibbrandt and David Lam, was invited to be part of the statistics working group in the National Teenage Pregnancy Partnership (NTPP). NTTP is a coalition of diverse stakeholders interested in advancing sexual reproductive health and rights. The partnership recognizes the multi-sectoral approach needed to address teen pregnancy and was formed to bring together national expertise from government, civil society and academic sectors to share strategies and develop new approaches to better understand and address teen pregnancy. The NTPP has two main activities – a statistics working group and a teen pregnancy prevention campaign. Branson’s involvement provides an important bridge between the ongoing Hewlett-funded work at the University of Cape Town and this national initiative. Dr. Branson also gave a presentation on SALDRU’s research on teen pregnancy in the session, “Where to from here? Using hard evidence to determine policy on unplanned teenage pregnancy for the SADC region” at the International Conference on AIDS and STIs Africa (ICASA) in Cape Town, December 8, 2013.
  • Evaluation of the Population and Poverty Research Initiative

    January 01, 2014
    Since 2005, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, with collaboration and co-funding from research councils in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, and Norway and from the World Bank, has invested in the Population and Poverty Research Initiative (PopPov). In November 2012, the foundation issued a request for proposals (RFP) for an evaluation of PopPov, to help guide the foundation’s decisions about both the substance and means of future investments in it. The RAND Corporation was selected to conduct the evaluation. For more information on the evaluation and access to the full report, visit the Hewlett Foundation website.
  • Fellowship for Young African Leaders

    Fellowship Announcement January 01, 2014
    The Washington Fellowship is the new flagship program of the President’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). This program will bring over 500 young leaders to the United States each year, beginning in 2014, for leadership training, academic coursework, and mentoring, and will create unique opportunities in Africa to put those new skills to practical use in propelling economic growth and prosperity and strengthening democratic institutions. One of the critical sectors that the fellowship tries to invest in is Public Management. It is tailored to young Africans who work or aspire to work in all levels of government, regional organizations such as the African Union, international bodies such as the United Nations, or other publicly-minded entities or think tanks.
  • Fertility and Maternal Hours of Work in Ethiopia: A Case Study in the Amhara Region

    Research Article January 01, 2014
    A journal article based on Chalachew Desta Getahun’s dissertation, Fertility and maternal hours of work in Ethiopia: a case study in the Amhara region, was published in the November 2013 African Population Studies journal. His dissertation investigates to what extent and how population change (in terms of fertility) influences economic well-being and poverty conditions at individual and household levels in Ethiopia.
  • Hewlett Dissertation Alumni Research Grants

    Grant Announcement January 01, 2014
    Hewlett Dissertation Alumni Research Grants are given to past Hewlett/IIE Dissertation Fellows. This year’s Alumni Research grants were awarded to the following researchers: Kelly Jones (IFPRI 2008-2010 Fellow) and Erick Gong (Middlebury 2009-2010 Fellow): “Can Savings Accounts Save Lives? Financial Products for Improving Sexual and Reproductive Health” The goal of this project is to see if providing women with financial independence in the form of mobile phone savings accounts can help them better manage risk in their daily lives. Amber Peterman (UNC North Carolina PRB 2007-2009 Fellow): “Income Shocks and Reproductive Health: Evidence from Large-scale Randomized Cash Transfer Experiments in Zambia” This study explores the impact of Zambia’s child grant programme (CGP), a government operated large-scale unconditional cash transfer programme.
  • Hewlett Foundation Blog Work in Progress

    Blog January 01, 2014
    The Hewlett Foundation announces the launch of its Work in Progress blog. Work in Progress will offer Hewlett staff an opportunity to share their thoughts and reactions to developments in their work and in their fields as well as philanthropy in general. It will highlight new strategies, evaluations, reports, new interesting ideas and articles, and more. Click the link above to read Hewlett President Larry Kramer’s post, “Learning, Transparency, and Blogs.”
  • Hewlett French Translation Initiative Publications

    January 01, 2014
    The Hewlett Translation Initiative aims to provide French speakers in West and Central Africa with access to materials that highlight population, reproductive health, and family planning. The latest French translations of PRB publications include: Le Désire croissant des femmes d’Afrique subsaharienne de limiter le nombre de grossesses: Relever le défi. Les programmes de planification familiale doivent donc répondre aux besoins tant des femmes qui souhaitent les espacer en Afrique subsaharienne. La prise de décision des ménages et l’utilisation de la contraception en Zambie Cette note de recherche présente les résultats et les insinuations politiques tirés d’une étude de Nava Ashraf, Erica Field, and Jean Lee. Celles-ci ont examiné le rôle de l’époux dans la prise de décision relative à la planification familiale et elles ont présenté des données empiriques selon lesquelles le comportement des couples à l’égard des décisions sur l’utilisation de la contraception aboutissait à des résultats loin d’être parfaits en matière de fécondité. Besoins non satisfaits en planification familiale et demandes pour des familles plus petites au Rwanda Cette note de recherche offre une synthèse des résultats présentés dans un article publié en 2009 par Dieudonné Muhoza Ndaruhuye et ses collègues qui donne un aperçu des facteurs liés à l’utilisation de la planification par les Rwandais et les dynamiques de la population nationale. For a full list of PRB publications in French, visit the PRB website or the PopPov website.
  • Household Decisionmaking and Contraceptive Use in Zambia

    Research Brief January 01, 2014
    Family planning services promote a wide range of health and socioeconomic benefits to women, men, and their families. Still, many barriers prevent women from using contraception. Despite efforts to increase awareness and improve access to these family planning services, unmet need for family planning and unwanted pregnancies remains high in many low- and middle-income countries, suggesting that other factors may be driving contraceptive use. One such factor relates to household decisionmaking about fertility. Specifically, disagreements between a husband and wife about family planning may influence decisions about contraceptive use. Common sources of disagreements between partners include: Preferences for whether or not to use family planning. What contraceptive method to use. Mismatches in ideal family size. This PopPov network research brief presents findings and policy implications from a study by Nava Ashraf, Erica Field, and Jean Lee. They investigated the husband’s role in family planning decisions and presented evidence that couples’ behavior regarding decisions about contraceptive use produce less than ideal fertility outcomes. The study randomly assigned individuals to three groups: individuals chosen to receive a voucher, granting immediate and free access to a range of contraceptive methods, including concealable contraceptives such as implants or injectables, in the presence of their husband (couples treatment); women chosen to receive the same voucher, except in private (individual treatment); and women who did not receive a voucher (control group). Download the brief above (PDF: 560KB)
  • INDEPTH Data Repository

    January 01, 2014
    The International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Population and Their Health (INDEPTH) Data Repository is an online archive of high-quality datasets from INDEPTH member Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) centres. It is the first data repository that specialises in longitudinal population-based data from low- and middle-income countries. As at its launch on 1st July 2013, the INDEPTH Data Repository contains detailed datasets underlying the indicators on INDEPTHStats for eight Network member centres. Data from an INDEPTH collaboration on the study of the epidemiology of epilepsy in demographic sites (SEEDS) is also available. The datasets will contain data in event-history format for approximately 800,000 individuals representing more than 3.7 million person years of observation. INDEPTHStats will have indicators from a further 14 member centres.
  • Watch: Interview with David Lam

    Interview January 01, 2014
    In this video, David Lam discusses the effects of youth population growth on sub-Saharan African economics.
  • Watch: Interview with Ernesto Amaral

    Interview January 01, 2014
    In this video, Ernesto Amaral addresses influence of demographic transition on economic development in Brazil.
  • Watch: Interview with Jean-François Kobiané and Moussa Bougma

    Video January 01, 2014
    In a new video interview, Jean-François Kobiané and Moussa Bougma discuss their analyses of the links between family structure, poverty, and child labor in Africa.
  • Investigating Elements of a Population, Poverty, and Reproductive Health Research Agenda

    Research Report January 01, 2014
    This report mainly highlights research results that directly bear on the thematic issues and policy questions that are the focus of the PopPov efforts: the relationship between population growth, reproductive health, and economic outcomes. The body of the report organizes results from many of the studies according to substantive topic areas to facilitate a broad overview of the Hewlett-supported research under the PopPov initiative; the Appendices (A, B, C) include a bibliographic list of published studies, project descriptions, and an overview of projects with their corresponding contributions to the working group agenda.
  • JM Ian Salas Receives 2014 Dorothy S. Thomas Award

    January 01, 2014
    JM Ian Salas received the 2014 Dorothy S. Thomas Award from the Population Association of America. The honor recognizes his research on consequences of funding disruptions on family planning programs in the Philippines–work he pursued and published as a doctoral student at UCI–as the outstanding graduate student paper on interrelationships among social, economic, and demographic variables. His research found that birth rates responded significantly to swings in public contraceptive supply, and that subsidized contraception helped poor and low-educated women manage their fertility. Salas completed his Ph.D. in Fall 2013 and is currently the David E. Bell Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population & Development Studies. He received the Thomas award at the Population Association of America annual meeting in May.
  • Osman Sankoh on the Role of Research and Innovation in Development

    Research Article January 01, 2014
    Osman Sankoh, Executive Director of INDEPTH, recently published a piece on the Lancet website describing the role of research and innovation in the development of low- and middle-income countries. Click the link above to read the full article.
  • “Playing the Numbers Game”: Evidence-Based Advocacy and the Technocratic Narrowing of the Safe Motherhood Initiative

    Research Article January 01, 2014
    Katerini Storeng and Dominique Behague address the rise of evidence-based advocacy (EBA), a term global-level maternal health advocates have used to indicate the use of scientific evidence to bolster the Safe Motherhood Initiative’s authority in the global health arena. Read the full article in the Medical Anthropology Quarterly.
  • PopPov Researchers in Development Southern Africa

    Research Article January 01, 2014
    Work by Murray Leibbrandt, David Lam, Cally Ardington, and other PopPov-supported researchers appear in the latest issue of Development Southern Africa.
  • PopPov Researchers in The Review of Income and Health Special Issue: Poverty, Development, and Behavioral Economics

    Research Article January 01, 2014
    The new special issue of The Review of Income and Health includes articles by PopPov Researchers Bertil Tungodden and Ben D’Exelle. “Do Non-Enforceable Contracts Matter? Evidence from an International Lab Experiment,” co-authored by Dr. Tungoden, studies repayment decisions in the presence of non-enforceable loan contracts in Norway and Tanzania. Dr. D’Exelle’s article, “Aid Distribution and Cooperation in Unequal Communities,” examines aid distribution and cooperation in a field lab in rural Nicaragua. Click the link above for the full issue.
  • The DEMTREND Closing Conference

    January 01, 2014
    The Closing Conference of the DEMTREND Program took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on October 28-30, 2013. The objective of the Conference was to share the results of the analytical work carried out under the DEMTREND Program, which was funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Participants discussed results and papers in progress from all projects. Some of these papers are available on public sites: The impact of fertility on household economic status in Cameroon, Mali and Senegal The effect of the number of siblings on education in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from a natural experiment Determinants of labor market gender inequalities in Cameroon, Senegal and Mali: the role of human capital and the fertility burden (1, 2) Impacts of School-Based HIV Education on Reported Behavior and Knowledge of Adolescent Girls
  • Unmet Need and Demand for Smaller Families in Rwanda

    Research Brief January 01, 2014
    Rwanda faces development challenges that stem from several factors: low per capita income, the legacy of the social and political upheaval experienced in the 1990s, and high population density. Low contraceptive use and high rates of fertility among Rwandan women contribute to the country’s population growth and high population density. These factors strain economic and natural resources and potentially contribute to ethnic tensions, such as those that fueled the country’s 1994 genocide, during which up to 1 million Rwandans were murdered. As recently as 2005, only one in 10 married women were using a modern method of contraception; and, at the country’s highest fertility levels in 1983, Rwandan women could expect to have, on average, 8.5 children over a lifetime. This PopPov network research brief summarizes findings of a paper published in 2009 by Dieudonné Muhoza Ndaruhuye and colleagues that provides insight into factors associated with Rwandans’ use of family planning and the country’s population dynamics. Using data from the 2005 Rwanda DHS, the authors looked at four possible explanations for unmet need for contraception and demand for family planning services among reproductive-age women living with a partner: women’s characteristics, their partner’s characteristics, women’s exposure to family planning information, and women’s attitudes and their partner’s perceived attitudes toward contraception. Download the brief above (PDF: 527KB)
  • Video: Dan Korbel on DFID-ESRC Growth Research Program

    Video January 01, 2014
    Dan Korbel – Senior Research Portfolio Manager, ESRC – discusses the new four year DFID-ESRC programme which aims to fund world class scientific research on economic growth in low income countries with a high potential for impact on policy and practice. Click the link above to watch the full video.
  • Video: Interview with Abiba Longwe

    Video January 01, 2014
    Abiba Longwe is pursuing her doctorate studies in Economics at the Department of Economics of Nijmegen School of Management. Her doctoral dissertation investigates the relationship between sexual reproductive health and poverty reduction in rural communities of Sub-Saharan Africa. By demonstrating the dynamics between family planning initiatives and development, Abiba hopes to educate policymakers on the economic and social incentives of investment in such programs. She has contributed to the NWO/WOTRO PopDev project on Impact of Reproductive Health Services in Sub-Saharan Africa 2008-2012, working closely with Professor Jerome Smits. To learn more about Abiba’s work and this PopDev research project, watch her full-length interview via the link above.
  • Vote for icddr,b Researcher Shortlisted for Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development Initiative

    January 01, 2014
    A research proposal to help reduce the enormous burden of post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) developed by icddr,b’s Dr. Aminur Rahman Shaheen has been shortlisted for the multi- million dollar Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development grant competition. Research proposals are shortlisted based on innovative health solutions that cut across technology, service delivery, and demand. Dr. Shaheen’s study, “Tampostat: A low-cost, self-regulating tamponade for management of postpartum hemorrhage in low-resource settings,” is one of 52 finalists in the competition. All 52 finalists’ innovations are open for on-line voting for a People’s Choice Award until 31 July (5 pm ET). The winner will be announced on 1 August. Learn more about Dr. Shaheen’s innovation on the icddr,b website. To vote please click the link above.
  • Will Dow Presents at Expert Meeting Group on Priorities for Improved Survival

    Research Presentation January 01, 2014
    Will Dow presented on the use of incentives in health care at an Expert Group Meeting on “Priorities for Improved Survival: ICPD beyond 2014” at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in October 2013. Dow discussed arguments and evidence on using positive incentives as a development tool to increase the use of health services or improve health behaviors. His presentation and paper discuss ethical concerns, program design, and a wide range of research findings, including a study by deWalque et al on the use of cash incentives to reduce risky sexual behaviors, which was funded as part of the Hewlett PopPov Initiative.
  • An-Magritt Jensen and Anne Khasakhala on Fertility and Poverty

    Interview Transcript January 01, 2013
    Researchers An-Magritt Jensen and Anne Khasakhala talked to PRB staff about their project on fertility and poverty in two areas of Kenya. They discussed their findings regarding spousal communication and fertility intentions, and highlighted some of the policy implications of their research. Jensen is a professor of Sociology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Khasakhala is a senior lecturer at the Population Studies and Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. Read a transcript of the questions and answers at the link above.
  • Dr. Jotham Musinguzi Receives 2013 United Nations Population Award

    January 01, 2013
    Dr. Jotham Musinguzi of Uganda was chosen by the Population Award Committee, a body administered by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in recognition of his contributions to improving public health. Dr. Musinguzi is a strong advocate of reproductive health as a major component of social and economic development. He played a major role in drafting the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994, and was actively involved in negotiations on the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He also played a major role in preparing the Maputo Plan of Action, which was adopted by the African Union in 2006 to help achieve the MDGs in Africa, and contributed to the success of the 2012 London Summit on Family Planning. The 2013 Population Awards will be presented at UN Headquarters in New York in June.
  • Fertility Outcomes and the Roles of Children in Household Risk-Management Strategies

    Interview Transcript January 01, 2013
    Researcher Anne Kielland spoke with PRB staff about her project on the roles of children in household risk-management strategies in rural Senegal and Benin. She discussed her research methodology and survey strategy, along with findings regarding the effect of poverty on child mobility. Kielland is a researcher at FAFO, in Oslo, Norway. Read a transcript of the questions and answers at the link above.
  • Hewlett Dissertation Fellowship 2013-2015 Awardees

    January 01, 2013
    The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation/IIE Dissertation Fellowship program, administered by the Institute of International Education’s Global Learning Programs Division, provides Ph.D. students in either sub-Saharan Africa, the United States, or Canada a maximum of $40,000 to produce sound evidence on the role of population and reproductive health in economic development that could be incorporated into national and international economic planning and decisionmaking. For the 2013-2015 cohort, seven fellows have been awarded. For more information on the 2013 Fellows, please visit the website.
  • Impact of Reproductive Health Services in Sub-Saharan Africa 2008-2012

    Research report January 01, 2013
    PopPov research from the Netherlands’ Radboud University Nijmegen, Centre for International Development Issues Nijmegen, Nijmegen Centre for Economics; Nijmegen International Centre for Health Systems Research and Education; and Muhimbili University for Health and Allied Sciences in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, looked at the interaction between investments in improving reproductive health and social and economic development. They collected new datasets especially for this project, including the District Panel Database (DPD), which contains subnational level information for 441 units from 25 African countries, for at least two points in time between 1995 and 2010. The DPD has been used for the working paper, “The Impact of Family Planning on Primary School Enrollment in Subnational Areas Within 25 African Countries.” Click the link above to download. The DPD was created by aggregating household-level data from DHS surveys to the level of subnational areas within the countries. Variables included are years of education, level of development, percentage of children ages 8-11 in school at time of interview, average number of children under 6, percentage of women using modern contraceptives, percentage of women accepting family planning, percentage of women with knowledge on modern contraceptives. In particular, see Appendix A on p. 29, which lists in a table information on countries, districts, and episodes included in the study. For more information on the database and how to obtain the data please contact Jeroen Smits, jeroen.smits@fm.ru.nl. See recently published papers by this group: Abiba Longwe and Jeroen Smits, “Family Planning Outcomes and Primary School Attendance in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Studies in Family Planning 43, issue 2 (2012): 127-43. This study examined the relationship between women’s family planning outcomes and primary school enrollment among their children ages 8-11. They found that helping families improve their family planning will increase children’s schooling opportunities and lead to more effective use of household and community resources. Deodatus C. Kakoko et al., “Provision of Family Planning Services in Tanzania: A Comparative Analysis of Public and Private Facilities,” African Journal of Reproductive Health16 no. 4 (2012): 140-8. This study looked at differences between public and private facilities in terms of provision of family planning services. They found that public facilities were more likely to offer modern contraceptives compared to private facilities. Bart Van Rijsbergen and Ben D’Exelle, “Delivery Care in Tanzania: A Comparative Analysis of Use and Preferences,” World Development, available online Nov. 19, 2012. This study combined data from a survey and a choice experiment in Tanzania to compare women’s preferences with real choices of delivery care. They found that less empowered women and women who delivered their latest pregnancy outside a health facility less concerned about the technical quality of care.
  • Impacts of School Based HIV Education on Reported Behavior and Knowledge of Adolescent Girls

    Research Report January 01, 2013
    PopPov researcher Esther Duflo and colleagues published a final report on the ISAS study in Cameroon, Impacts of School-Based HIV Education on Reported Behavior and Knowledge of Adolescent Girls. The paper describes the outcome of a randomized field experiment to study how teenage girls in Cameroon respond to different school-based HIV education programs. The researchers found that HIV education sessions may not be the best way to increase knowledge and change behavior; but there is no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to HIV prevention information. They also found information spillovers and behavioral spillovers on pregnancy and schooling among friends. The project, an impact evaluation of a program implemented by the Institut pour la Recherche, le Développement Economique et Social et la Communication (IRESCO), is run by the Jameel-Poverty Action Lab at the Paris School of Economics (J-PAL Europe).
  • Jan Monteverde Haakonsen on RCN’s ECONPOP

    Interview January 01, 2013
    PRB staff interviewed Jan Monteverde Haakonsen, special adviser in the Department of Cooperation and Development Research at the Research Council of Norway (RCN) about RCN’s role in the PopPov research initiative. In the interview, Haakonsen outlines the structure of RCN, and explains that the council acts as an independent adviser to the Norwegian government on research matters. ECONPOP, RCN’s funding scheme under the PopPov initiative, has supported six research projects, and has a total budget of approximately NOK 25 million, or $USD 4.3 million. Research has focused primarily on the role of gender as it relates to reproductive health and demographic issues. Read more about ECONPOP and listen to the audio interview at the link above.
  • PAA 2014 Annual Meeting Call for Papers Now Available

    Call for Papers January 01, 2013
    The Population Association of America Annual Meeting will be held May 1-3, in Boston, Massachusetts. The Call for Papers (PDF) is available now. Submissions are made online at the 2014 Annual Meeting Program Website. Deadline for submissions is September 27, 2013. For more information, go to the PAA website.
  • Publicly Available Data from the Marriage Transitions in Malawi Project

    January 01, 2013
    Data is now available from the “Marriage Transitions in Malawi” (MTM) project. MTM is a panel study of initially never-married women and men, ages 14-26, collected between 2007-2009 in the Salima District in central Malawi. Data were collected to investigate what influences the timing of key life events, such as leaving school, having sex for the first time, and getting married. The study also aimed to identify whether and how socioeconomic conditions, gender, and other social locations affect a person’s risk of acquiring HIV. For access to the data, send a brief description of how you plan to use the data to Kathleen Beegle, kbeegle@worldbank.org, and Michelle Poulin, mpoulin@stanford.edu. More details on the study design and questionnaires are available at https://sites.google.com/site/mtmalawiproject/.
  • Realizing the Demographic Dividend for Africa

    January 01, 2013
    The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) participated in a high-level panel on “Realizing the Demographic Dividend for Africa,” at the 6th Joint Annual Meetings of the Africa Union Commission Conference of Ministers of Economy and Finance and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development. The event was held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, from March 21-26, 2013. The aim of the conference was to discuss how Africa can ensure that it harnesses the demographic dividend. Visit AFIDEP’s website to download a report and five policy briefs on the demographic dividend.
  • Researchers from Past Project Sponsored by PopPov Network Win Grant Award for Related Work

    January 01, 2013
    Craig McIntosh and Sarah Baird continue their work on the effects of conditional cash transfers and unconditional cash transfers.
  • The Population and Poverty Research Initiative

    Research Brief January 01, 2013
    Under the population and poverty (PopPov) initiative, Hewlett partners have awarded research funding to more than 50 principal investigators and 50 Ph.D. candidates. This two-page summary document gives an overview of the initiative and highlights studies supported through PopPov partnerships. Download the two-page brief, The Population and Poverty Research Initiative (1.2 MB).
  • Véronique Filippi on Severe Obstetric Complications in Burkina Faso

    Interview January 01, 2013
    Kate Belohlav, research associate at PRB, interviewed professor Véronique Filippi about her research on severe obstetric complications in Burkina Faso. Filippi and her research team from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), University of Oslo, and AfricSanté followed women who had experienced near-fatal (“near-miss”) complications during childbirth up to four years after delivery, and documented the socioeconomic and health consequences of having a complicated childbirth. They found that both the women and their children had an increased risk of death as compared to women who had not experienced near-miss complications, which suggests that this group of women would benefit from being identified early and followed closely through postpartum services. Read more about Filippi and listen to the audio interview at the link above.
  • Video: 2013 United Nations Population Award Ceremony

    Video January 01, 2013
    Dr. Jotham Musinguzi, a strong advocate of reproductive health and family planning, received the 2013 United Nations Population Award on June 28th. The Award is given annually to individuals and institutions for outstanding work in population and in improving public health. Dr. Musinguzi is the Regional Director of Partners in Population and Development (PPD) Africa Regional Office (ARO), an AFP partner. Watch the ceremony at the link above.
  • Women’s Empowerment Emerges as Research Theme

    Research posters January 01, 2013
    Radboud University Nijmegen researcher Judith Westeneng presented a poster on “How Economic Empowerment Reduces Women’s Reproductive Health Vulnerability: Evidence From Northern Tanzania,” at the Seventh Annual PopPov Research Conference in Oslo, Norway. Westeneng and colleague Ben D’Exelle found positive relationships between the increase in women’s access to income-generating activities and the lowering of their reproductive health vulnerability. The theme of women’s empowerment also emerged from ECONPOP. Magnus Hatlebakk of the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) presented a poster on “Gender of Children, Education, and Occupational Choice in Nepal.” Findings indicated a strong son preference in the country. Meanwhile, fellow CMI researcher Vincent Somville presented a poster on “Girls’ Economic Empowerment: The Best Contraceptive?” Fall 2014 is estimated for the project’s follow-up. Both posters are available at the link above. Women’s economic empowerment was also a focus of the 2012 Joint RFP-PopDev Call, namely the impact of reproductive health on empowerment, as measured by economic outcomes at the household and individual levels. See the results on the PopPov website.
  • Beyond Maternal Mortality: Surviving an Obstetric Complication in Burkina Faso

    Research Brief January 01, 2012
    Globally, the number of maternal deaths have decreased by nearly one-half over the past two decades. However, there are still adverse consequences for women experiencing near-fatal complications during pregnancy or childbirth. For many women, emergency obstetric care is a catastrophic expenditure that may potentially contribute to a cycle of poverty and poor health. This PopPov network research brief summarizes findings from one study that qualitatively examines how some women in Burkina Faso fared after such “near miss” life-threatening experiences. Download the brief at the link above (PDF: 488KB)
  • Costs of Induced Abortion and Cost-Effectiveness of Universal Access to Modern Contraceptives

    Research Brief January 01, 2012
    With a population of nearly 30 million and an annual population growth rate of 3.2 percent, Uganda is the third fastest-growing country in the world. Recent Demographic and Health Surveys indicate that only 31 percent of Ugandan women of reproductive age who want to use contraceptives report that they are indeed using a modern effective method. Over 37 percent of women want to postpone or limit childbearing but are not currently using modern contraception—these women have an unmet need for family planning. To respond to the high level of unmet need, the Ugandan government has begun to include family planning in its health program and has acknowledged that a high level of unmet need for family planning may negatively affect women’s health and overall well-being. This PopPov network research brief highlights findings from two recent studies led by Joseph Babigumira and researchers at the University of Washington and in Uganda. Both studies use health economics methods to: Investigate the economic consequences of not responding to unmet need for contraception. Inform policymakers about the benefits of increasing family planning coverage. Download the brief (PDF: 545KB)
  • Database Developing World

    Database January 01, 2012
    Database Developing World (DDW) connects household level datasets for many developing countries, including data for 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. DDW also harmonizes and provides district and national variables that can be used to explain household-level processes. More information on the DDW can be found at www.databasedevelopingworld.org/.
  • Evaluating the Mexico City Policy: How International Aid Affects Fertility Outcomes in Ghana

    Video January 01, 2012
    In this video interview, PopPov researcher Kelly Jones of the International Food Policy Research Institute discusses research findings from Ghana that show how the Mexico City Policy (the “Global Gag Rule”) had unintended consequences for induced abortion and unintended pregnancies, especially for the poorest and least-educated. Click the link above to view Jones’s interview.
  • Experimental Evidence from Cameroon on School-Based HIV Education

    Working Paper January 01, 2012
    PopPov researcher Esther Duflo and her colleagues recently published a working paper, Punchy Information, Groggy Students? Experimental Evidence From Cameroon on School-Based HIV Education. Since the majority of youths in sub-Saharan Africa are in school until age 15, HIV education in the classroom looks promising as a way to prevent spread of the virus. But success varies, as Duflo et al. summarized in their literature review. The researchers focused on these questions for their study: Why such heterogeneous impact of adult-led and curriculum-based school-based interventions? Is there a “one-size-fits-all” HIV prevention? Communication and social learning: is this guaranteed? Is talking with relatives positively correlated with actual behavior? Based on their randomized field experiment, which studied how teenage girls in Cameroon respond to different school-based HIV education programs, they concluded that punchy information is not important to adopting safer sexual behavior. Rather, their analysis to-date indicates that the repetition of context-specific messages—whether by an outside consultant or school staff—is key to producing behavior change.
  • Exploring the Health and Economic Impact of Unsafe Induced Abortion in Uganda

    Video January 01, 2012
    In this interview, PopPov researcher Joseph Babigumira of the University of Washington shares insights on the costs and economic consequences that are associated with induced abortions in Uganda. In Uganda, low levels of contraceptive use and widespread unmet need for family planning lead to many unintended pregnancies and unplanned births. Sexually active women who do not use contraceptives and do not want to have more children are consequently at high risk of having an abortion should they become pregnant. However, since abortions are illegal in Uganda, they are usually performed in clandestine, unhygienic environments by undertrained and unskilled practitioners. Babigumira’s research findings analyze a wide range of health complications and adverse socioeconomic outcomes that are associated with induced abortions. Click the link above to watch the YouTube video interview and browse the Research section of this website to view more interviews with PopPov researchers.
  • Free Education in Rwanda: Just One Step Toward Reducing Gender and Sibling Inequalities

    Research article January 01, 2012
    PopPov researcher Pieter Hooimeijer and colleagues published an article in Education Research International on free education in Rwanda. They found that the government introduction of free education is only one step toward making the system more equitable. Although the effort has been very successful for the majority of primary school-aged children, foster children and orphans are still being discriminated against. Some children, particularly girls, leave before completing school.
  • Further Evidence of Community Education Effects on Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Research Article January 01, 2012
    PopPov researcher Oystein Kravdal’s work on the importance of community education for fertility was published in Demographic Research. Kravdal’s study is based on DHS surveys from 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Among his findings: expansion of education in Africa may affect fertility through an additional “spill-over” effect. For example, over the last decade, a woman’s birth rate decreased (or remained stable) with an increase in the average education in the census enumeration area in which she lives.
  • Health Risks and Migration

    Video January 01, 2012
    In this video, Alice Mesnard of City University London describes findings from research that examines relationships between health service access and distribution, the spread of infectious diseases, and migration. In particular, the research investigates the largely unexplored role of migration in contributing to health-related risks and to the spread of chronic and acute illnesses. The research results also identifies the pathways through which poor access to health services and increased disease prevalence may lead to increased migration, which in turn has important health and economic consequences. Click the link above to view Mesnard’s interview.
  • Household Responses to Information on Child Nutrition

    Working Paper January 01, 2012
    A nutrition paper by PopPov researchers was highlighted in Development Impact, The World Bank’s blog. Economist Markus Goldstein describes the study in Malawi, “Household Responses to Information on Child Nutrition,” as “one with a twist—they look not only at nutrition outcomes, but they also try and figure out where these might be coming from—and hence also look at labor supply.” Malawi is a country where, Goldstein writes, “48 percent of the children under 5 are stunted—which is the second highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa.”
  • Human Capital Consequences of Teenage Childbearing in South Africa

    Research Brief January 01, 2012
    This PopPov network research brief highlights the findings from recent studies on teenage childbearing in South Africa, in which analysts examined the causal relationships between teen fertility, educational attainment, and health outcomes in urban and rural regions in South Africa. The studies use data from: The Cape Area Panel Study, which examined the effects of teen motherhood on the education outcomes of women as well as health and educational outcomes of children born to teen mothers in metropolitan Cape Town. The Africa Centre Study, which focused on the educational and health consequences of childbearing for black South African teen mothers in the rural KwaZulu-Natal region.
  • Long-Term Health Effects of Cash Transfer Programs

    Research Article January 01, 2012
    In a blog post on the World Bank’s website, PopPov researcher Berk Ozler describes research he and colleagues are expanding upon in Malawi. Their original experiment compared a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program contingent on school attendance to an unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program. They found that increases in income for adolescents in the UCT program improved their mental health (discussed in their forthcoming paper in The Journal of Human Resources) and that increased income decreased girls’ risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Their follow-up work looks at whether cash transfers to adolescent girls could not only improve their welfare in the long term but also the lives of future generations, using the same group of girls, many of whom are now married and have children. Ozler and his team are collecting data from the young women to determine whether short-term benefits are translating into better labor market outcomes, more empowerment, happier marriages, and more life satisfaction. They are also collecting data from their children to see if they are healthier and have improved early childhood development outcomes.
  • Poverty and Unmet Need in Reproductive Health of Youth in Central Africa

    Video January 01, 2012
    In this video interview, PopPov researcher Gervais Beninguisse of IFORD Cameroon shares research findings on the relationships between poverty and unmet need for reproductive health services among adolescents and youth in Central Africa. Click the link above to view the interview.
  • Poverty, Gender Inequities, and Sexual/Reproductive Health in Rural Tanzania

    Video January 01, 2012
    In a video interview, William Dow of the Berkeley School of Public Health describes his PopPov-related work, an impact evaluation of a combined social and psychosocial intervention in southern Tanzania. Click the link above to watch the interview. “Incentivising Safe Sex: A Randomised Trial of Conditional Cash Transfers for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention in Rural Tanzania,” co-authored by Dow, fellow PopPov researcher Damien De Walque, and other colleagues, was recently published in BMJ Open.
  • Reproductive Health and Economic Development: What Connections Should We Focus On?

    Research Brief January 01, 2012
    This PopPov network brief by Shareen Joshi of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service examines the emerging evidence base for answering three questions about the relationship between reproductive health (RH) and three important areas of human capital development: Do healthier women with fewer children invest more in human capital? Do women participate more in labor markets? Does better RH increase a woman’s ability to earn and save more, and thus help her and her family escape poverty?
  • Rwanda’s High But Recently Declining Fertility

    Video January 01, 2012
    In this video interview, PopPov researcher Pieter Hooimeijer of Utrecht University shares research findings from a study conducted in Rwanda. The study examined women’s desired number of children, the actual number of children, and life chances of children. One question examined is how high fertility affects education for children. He notes the implications of findings at the individual and the national level, highlighting the gap between desired fertility, actual fertility, and the importance of local conditions. He discusses how reproductive health investments can break the cycle of decreasing agricultural productivity, high population growth, and increasing poverty. Click the link above to view Hooimeijer’s interview.
  • The Economics of Reproductive Health in Accra, Ghana

    Research Brief January 01, 2012
    Reproductive health services, in particular family planning and maternal health services, can help women avoid unplanned births, unsafe abortions, and pregnancy-related disabilities. Through modern contraception, couples have a safe and reliable way to have the number of children they want. With smaller families, women spend less time dealing with pregnancy and child care and have more time for work outside the home. Large families can be a drain on household resources, with school fees being the largest cash expenditure in many households. With smaller families, women can stay healthier, become more economically productive, and have more opportunities for education, training, and employment. At the country level, women’s increased working outside the home also leads to an expanding labor force, which produces substantial economic benefits. This PopPov network research brief highlights findings from a recent study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Ghana, Legon. The study examined the associations between reproductive health, fertility, and economic outcomes for women living in the urban area of Accra, Ghana, and investigated this “health-wealth relationship” by analyzing the effects of fertility and family size on: Women’s reproductive health status. Female labor force participation. Employment status of mothers. Women’s wages and earnings. Download the brief at the link above (PDF: 568KB) Watch a video interview with researcher Allan G. Hill on the PopPov website. Browse the Research section of this website to view more interviews with PopPov researchers. For related research on other issues pertaining to women’s health in Accra, see the editorial in the June 2012 Ghana Medical Journal, and browse the rest of the issue.
  • The Effects of an Economic Crisis on Contraceptive Use

    Research Brief January 01, 2012
    Couples receive many health and socioeconomic benefits from having fewer children, and having access to modern contraception helps them to have the number of children they desire. To improve couples’ access to modern contraception, governments and international organizations in many low-income countries distribute contraceptives either at subsidized prices or for free. Often, these subsidies account for a substantial portion of the public budget allocated to support maternal and child health. But if subsidies are removed and prices increased, how would the price of contraceptives be affected? This PopPov network research brief summarizes the work of researchers Christopher McKelvey, Duncan Thomas, and Elizabeth Frankenberg, in examining the impact of a drastic change in prices and household resources on women’s use of contraceptives. They used survey data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Download the brief at the link above (PDF: 535KB)

The First Annual Research Conference on Population Impacts on Economic Development

  • November 2006
  • Event

The First Annual Research Conference on Population Impacts on Economic Development was held in London, Nov. 1-3, 2006. It marked the formal beginning of the Hewlett/PRB research initiative on population, reproductive health and economic development. The world’s most-prominent researchers on population and economic development (PED) explored the state of the field, emphasizing new methodologies and priority research topics. The conference represents the first annual gathering of a new international network of researchers on PED that included experts from around the world, with a particular emphasis on African economics researchers and those conducting PED research in Africa. Participants exchanged technical information about ongoing research and research methodologies, data available for research use, and data collection efforts underway. They had the opportunity to shape the new Hewlett/PRB Initiative to strengthen the evidence about how population and reproductive health impact economic growth and poverty reduction.The new network of researchers established through the Hewlett/PRB research programs will maintain contact through annual research conferences, bi-annual methodology workshops, and other activities to build the research community of interest. Researchers actively pursuing study in relevant fields are encouraged to contact the program sponsors for further information about funding and conference opportunities.

Conference Presentations

  • Linda Adair: Experiences in Longitudinal Data Analysis (PPT: 3.55MB)
  • Ernesto Amaral: Demographic Transition & Economic Development at the Local Level in Brazil (PPT: 408KB)
  • Tony Ao: Microeconomic Impact of HIV Disease Among Female Bar/Hotel Workers in Tanzania (PPT: 962KB)
  • Toby Aykroyd: The Value of A Lobbying Strategy (PPT: 811KB)
  • David Canning: Demographic Change, Economic Growth, and Poverty Reduction: The Evidence Base (PPT: 576KB) and Demographic Change, Economic Growth, and Poverty Reduction: New Methods (PPT: 102KB)
  • Tim Dyson: A Personal View of Research on Population Impacts on Economic Development (DOC: 59KB)
  • Robert Eastwood: Causal Links From Fertility to Poverty: What Do We Know and How Can We Find Out More? (PPT: 56KB)
  • Murray Leibbrandt: Causality and Reverse Causality: Issues Arising from Studies of Poverty and HIV/AIDS (PPT: 56KB)
  • Susannah Mayhew: Poverty, Environment & Population: Evidence and Research Needs (PPT: 634KB)
  • Tom Merrick: Reproductive Health and Poverty Reduction: What Do We Know? (PPT: 542KB)
  • Steve Morgan: ESRC Strategic Plan 2005-2010 (PPT: 503KB)
  • Germano Mwabu: African Economic Research Consortium (AERC): Research Activities on Population and Development (PPT: 118KB)
  • Marjorie Opuni-Akuamoa: Measuring the Impact of Young Adult Mortality on the Wellbeing of Older Persons in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (PPT: 695KB)
  • Duncan Thomas: Integrating Methods and Measurement (PDF: 30KB)

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