Fertility-mortality variations across LDCs: women's education, labor force participation, and contraceptive-use.

Abstract

UN and World Bank data on developing countries were used to examine variations across countries in child mortality and fertility patterns and to determine the impact of literacy and schooling, labor force participation of women, contraceptive use, availability of health services, and households headed by women on fertility rates and child mortality. The Schultz-Becker theoretical framework formed the basis of the analysis with ordinary least squares methods and extreme bounds analysis (EBA) used to test for robustness. The findings were that fertility was decreased due to women's human capital, women's labor force participation, and married women's use of contraception. The most powerful effect on fertility was contraceptive use, followed by women's labor force participation. Without contraceptive use in the model, women's literacy and school enrollments were negative and statistically significant. 66-81% of the variation in fertility rates was explained. EBA results showed the main variables as stable and consistent and, consequently, robust. Child mortality was strongly affected by women's schooling and labor force participation. Child mortality was negatively affected by availability of trained health services personnel at birth. Households headed by women had higher child mortality, but the association was weak. The main variables explained 84-89% of the variation in child mortality, and EBA results confirmed robustness. Socioeconomic improvement without attention to the health and educational needs of women would be counterproductive. Unfortunately, the structural adjustment program has resulted in the decline in health and educational services in developing countries, which severely affects low income women and households headed by women.