I think Gould makes a good point when he says, "fertility… is the result of decisions and choices of individuals" (pg. 142). It has been shown that increased education does reduce fertility, which suggests that education changes the way individuals make decisions. Each of the articles I read offered substantial empirical evidence to this relationship. The importance of this education is reflected in the fact that unlike developed countries, developing countries are experiencing the transition to lower fertility at the same time they are institution mass education. What economists are basically looking at, then, is whose fertility decision-making is being altered and how it is being altered. The effects of the decline vary in impact across countries as such decisions are taken in the context of the country's culture. The findings ultimately reflect that education of children, particularly young girls, has the biggest impact in reducing fertility in pre-transitional and transitional societies.
To begin, one should look briefly at the empirical relationship between
education and a decline in fertility. The majority of developing countries
in the studies do show a negative correlation between the two, as implied
by the previous statement. This is seen most strongly in the cases of Latin
America and East Asia (Cleland and Jejeebhoy 1995: 74). Another commonly
found model is a curvilinear relationship. Seen in parts of Africa and Asia,
this data shows that the first few years of education will actually lead
to an increase in fertility, before dropping off to lower levels of fertility
(Martin 1995: 190). There are several explanations for this correlation.
For example, those women who do not attend school are the poorest and hardest
working and are prone to miscarriage (Gould 129). Likewise, many economists
have explained this in that erodes "traditional" postpartum practices,
and thus one sees an up-tick in fertility. Even still, this is only a short-term
effect (Martin 1995: 190). The last relationship is seen in only a few African
countries, and shows that only high levels of education will eventually
cause a decline in fertility (Cleland and Jejeebhoy 1995: 74). Nonetheless,
the negative relationship between education and fertility still stands,
although it is weaker in some places than in others, and is best seen in
higher levels of education.
Having established this link, economists moved on to discover whom education
is affecting in terms of decision-making and fertility. The first matter
is whether it is education of women or men that makes the most difference.
Evidence seems to suggest that it is the education of women over the education
of men that makes such a difference in terms of fertility rates. A study
of a Nepalese community performed by William G. Axinn showed that schooling
of women lowered the odds of wanting more children by 34%, while schooling
of husbands actually increased their desire for children (Axinn 1993: 491).
Similarly, while Cleland and JeJeebhoy found that although primary schooling
has little impact on fertility, the fertility among women in South Asia
who received secondary education was much lower (Cleland and JeJeebhoy 1995:
75). That is not to say that increased education of men does not play a
role. The impact of male education is not as extensive as the education
of women, most likely for cultural reasons that will be discussed later.
Gould found, however, that "educated women are most likely to be responsive
to family planning media campaigns" (Gould 1993: 133). Clearly education
is to the benefit of a society in terms of decreased fertility, but the
education of women is particularly important.
Next in line for consideration, then, is whether it is the education of
children or the education of parents that causes the decline in fertility,
and by what mechanism this is brought about. There are certainly arguments
to be said for both sides. Tying with what was said before, the education
of both husbands and wives will lead to increased use of contraception,
which is an important part of fertility limitation. What happens with educating
parents, particularly women of course, is that a change in values takes
place. Essentially, the role of the woman in the household changes. Educated
women postpone marriage and child-bearing, they have new opportunities for
"status-attainment" outside of motherhood (Axinn 1993: 482), there
may be a change in the role of intimacy in the husband-wife relationship,
and giving women more power over the decision-making process in the household.
Hence there is an assertion that educating parents plays a significant role.
Conversely, Caldwell claims the "literature has missed the importance
of children's education because it fails to focus on the onset of both fertility
transitions and universal education" (Axinn 1993: 492). In a sense,
then, in these countries now entering demographic transition, one should
look at the burden of educating children instead. Axinn claims that education
actually influences contraception indirectly by increasing chance the parents
will send kids to school (Axinn 1993: 490). To this effect, it is actually
the costs of educating children that cause parents to decide to have fewer
children, or in other words, the value of children changes. The education
of parents, in this case, would be a reinforcing structure.
Children play an important role in the household in two ways. The first
is in terms of opportunity cost. Children perform certain household tasks
and can sometimes earn money in various ways; in general, children "produce
more than they consume" (Gould 1993: 125). These tasks in turn must
be reallocated or lost, which incurs costs. Moreover, there are also direct
costs of schooling in the form of uniforms, books and supplies. Evidence
provided by Axinn shows that couples whose oldest child receives schooling
are more likely to use contraception to stop childbearing (Axinn 1993: 489).
In economists' terms, the reduced demand for children is a function of the
increased consumer costs of education.
As stated in the introduction, and as shown in the various curves depicting
the relationship between education and fertility, this is a highly contextualized
phenomenon. It is really culture that dictates the extent of the impact
of education. One clear example of the role of culture in fertility decision-making
is given by Martin, who shows that desired fertility among women in a society
remains relatively stable across education levels; so fertility is in some
respects determined by culture (Martin 1995: 193). This is also why the
change in the role of women in the household is so important, because fertility
and marriage norms are very culture-bound. Family size norms are linked
to the "economic organization of society, its cultural setting, and
its family structure" (Martin 1995: 192) as well as its kinship structure.
In a rigidly patriarchal society, then, it is more unlikely that education
will make a large difference in the status of women as opposed to the effect
of education in a society that tends to be more egalitarian. Furthermore,
the impact of contraceptive education in terms of moving from traditional
to modern methods of contraception is largely a function of culture again.
Basically, the extent of the impact of education on the decline of fertility
depends largely on the willingness of a given society to allow the change
of its cultural norms concerning childbearing.
All this brings us back to the role of demographic transition. It is no
coincidence that mass education, coming at the same time as the demographic
transition shift in these countries, is a factor in this shift. Gould very
clearly illustrates this connection by discussing the role of mortality.
Education can cause lower mortality rates and is then a key factor in triggering
a decline in fertility, the second step in the transition (Gould 1993: 143).
This corresponds fairly well with Caldwell's model that the transition is
triggered by the restructuring of wealth flows, where education becomes
the key factor in bringing this about. Indeed, education seems to allow
men and especially women, to tap "substantial potential and unmet demand
for fertility regulation" (Cleland and JeJeebhoy 1995: 104). So education
has become a key trigger in developing countries because they are in a historically
unique position of having mass education in the pre-transitional stage.
Axinn, William G. "The Effects of Children's Schooling on Fertility
Limitation." Population
Studies, Vol. 47, November 1993, No. 3: 481-493.
Cleland, John and Shireen Jejeebhoy. "Maternal Schooling and Fertility:
Evidence from
Censuses and Surveys." Women's Education, Autonomy, and Reproductive
Behavior: Experience from Developing Countries. Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1995: 72-
106.
Gould, W. T. S. "Education and Population Growth." People and
Education in the Third World,
Essex, England: Longman Scientific and Technical, 1993: 123-145.
Martin, Teresa Castro. "Women's Education and Fertility: Results
from 26 Demographic and
Health Surveys". Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 26, No. 4, July/August
1995: 187-
202.