PI(s): Lam, David
Co-PI(s): Leibbrandt, Murray; Ranchhod, Vimal; Marteleto, Leticia
Affiliation(s): University of Michigan
Institutional Partner(s): PRB Center
Project Dates:
Start: 2008
End: 2011
Data Source(s): Panel Data
Methods: IV Econometric
Geographic Location(s): South Africa
Description:
This project analyzes links between fertility, intergenerational transfers, and economic development in South Africa. The project focuses on demographic behavior and economic outcomes at the household level in South Africa, taking advantage of key data resources: the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS), the new National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), and other South African datasets for identifying the potential impact of reducing teen fertility on women’s human capital and earnings. A major focus of the project was on the consequences of South Africa’s high level of teen fertility. Results show that a large percentage of teen mothers reported that they had their first birth earlier than they would have wanted. The results suggest that better provision of family planning services for adolescent girls could reduce teen pregnancies, and therefore lead to an increase in the educational attainment of young women and improvement in the health of their children. The results have important policy implications for government programs aimed at sexual activity among adolescents and limiting teenage pregnancies. Ultimately, the most important question is whether the Child Support Grant leads to improved human capital outcomes for children and adolescents, and whether they mitigate the negative consequences of teenage pregnancy.
Research Outputs:
Ardington, Cally, Menendez, Alicia & Mutevedzi, Tinofa. (2015). Early childbearing, human capital attainment and mortality risk: Evidence from a longitudinal demographic surveillance area in rural-KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 63 (2). 281-317. DOI: 10.1086/678983
Ardington, Cally, Menendez, Alicia & Mutevedzi, Tinofa. (2011). Early childbearing, human capital attainment and mortality risk (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) Working Paper No. 56).
Branson, Nicola, Ardington, Cally & Leibbrandt, Murray. (2011). Health outcomes for children born to teen mothers in Cape Town, South Africa (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) Working Paper No. 55). DOI: 10.1086/679737
Eyal, Katherine, & Woolard, Ingrid. (2011). Throwing the Book at the CSG (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) Working Paper No. 53).
Karra, Mahesh & Lee, Marlene. (2012). Human capital consequences of teenage childbearing in South Africa. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau.
Lam, D., Marteleto, L. and Ranchhod, V., ʺSchooling and Sexual Behavior in South Africa: The Role of Peer Effectsʺ December 2009. Population Studies Center Research Report 09-694. Presented at the XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference, Marrakech, Morocco, September 2009.
Ranchhod, Vimal, Lam, David, Leibbrandt, Murray & Marteleto, Leticia. (2011). Estimating the effect of adolescent fertility on educational attainment in Cape Town using a propensity score weighted regression (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) Working Paper No. 59).
Reinhard Schiel, Murray Leibbrandt, and David Lam (2014) “Assessing the impact of social grants on inequality: A South African case study” WIDER Working Paper 160