Study: “Reproductive Health, Labor Outcomes, and Pro-Poor Growth in South Africa: A Micro-Simulation Approach”
PI: Tshiswaka-Kashalala, Gauthier
Affiliation: University of Pretoria, South Africa
Funding Partner: IIE
Project Dates:
Start: 2008
End: 2010
Data Source(s): Local survey
Method(s): MV analysis
Geographic Location: South Africa

Description:
The research tests the assumption that poor reproductive health outcomes adversely affect the chances of poor women, their children, and families to escape poverty through a set of channels. These channels include: poor general health status, increased medical costs, and low education status. All these outcomes would reduce women’s productivity, preventing them from fully benefiting from available economic opportunities, and may lead to lower living standards and poverty. Using data from South Africa, the research will address the need to understand the link between poor reproductive health outcomes and poverty to inform policies aimed at reducing poverty among women in developing countries. The study expects to show that the development of poverty reduction strategies should prioritize investments in reproductive health.

Research Outputs:

Kashalala, Gauthier & Koch, Steven. (2014). The Economic Approach to Fertility: A Causal Mediation Analysis (ERSA Working Paper 442).

Kashalala, Gauthier & Koch, Steven. (2015). Contraceptive Use and Birth Intervals (University of Pretoria, Department of Economics Working Paper Series).