Publication Title: Demographic Research

Pages: 645-680

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Earlier investigations have shown associations between a woman’s chance of having a child, or various proximate determinants of her fertility, and the socioeconomic resources in the community in which she lives, net of her own resources.

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: This study, which is based on DHS surveys from 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, adds to the knowledge about this issue. With a focus on first- and higher-order birth rates, four specific questions are addressed.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: One result is that the negative associations between a woman’s birth rate and the average education in the census enumeration area in which she lives, net of her own education, have remained stable or become stronger over the last decade. Second, these associations are most pronounced among women who score high on indicators of socioeconomic development which suggests that they may become further strengthened. Third, associations even appear when a fixed-effects approach – based on data from two DHS surveys with GPS coordinates in each country – is employed to control for unobserved constant characteristics of units at a slightly higher level than the census enumeration area. Fourth, local processes seem to be particularly important: education among women in the province or nearest census enumeration areas is not inversely associated with fertility.