Women's Educational Attainment Research Articles

The changing role of employment status in marriage formation among young Korean adults

1.IntroductionA large body of research in the United States and Europe has examined the effect of economic resources, such as income and employment status, on the timing of entry into marriage and cohabitation among young adults (Oppenheimer, Kalmijn, and Lim 1997; Sweeney 2002; Xie et al. 2003; Dominguez-Folgueras and Castro-Martin 2008; Bracher and Santow 1998; Jalovaara 2012). These studies show that young adults' economic resources have a significant impact on the likelihood of union formation, and extend our understanding of marriage divergence between those with higher and lower levels of these resources. Furthermore, comparative studies (Blossfeld 1995; Ono 2003) have demonstrated that cross-national variations in social institutions, such as the education system and labor market, are significantly associated with differing patterns in the process of transition to marital union.Though a growing number of studies on this topic have looked beyond the Western world, still missing from the literature in an examination of marriage entry among the young population in Korea. Over the past several decades Korea has undergone remarkable economic development, and is now economically comparable to many countries in Europe and North America. Furthermore, as in many Western countries, younger Koreans' marriage formation has transformed significantly: between 1981 and 2014 the mean age at first marriage increased by 6 years for men (from 26.4 to 32.4) and 7 years for women (from 23.0 to 29.8), and between 1980 and 2010 the rate of those not marrying by age 40 increased from 4.7% to 37.9% for men and from 1.9% to 20.7% for women (Statistical Research Institute 2013). What makes these trends particularly interesting is the context in which they occur. Alongside the changes in marriage, women's educational attainment and labor force participation have increased rapidly, while young men's economic position has deteriorated. Furthermore, the labor market, education system, and cultural norms of Korea are distinctive. Taken together, these issues make the experience of young people in Korea interesting to compare with that elsewhere in the world. This paper provides this comparison by examining the determinants of marriage entry in Korea over three decade-long cohorts.2.BackgroundBoth economic and sociological theories of marriage have long emphasized the role of economic resources, such as education and labor market standing, on union formation. The independence theory of marriage (Becker 1981) emphasizes the concepts of specialization and exchange, postulating that marriage is a voluntary union of rational individuals with the aim of maximizing utility, and proffers that it can be formed only if benefits outweigh costs. Becker's theoretical framework also assumes that men are generally better positioned in the labor market than women and that women tend to have relative advantages over men in the domestic sphere, because of a normative socialization process. Thus, according to the theory, benefits from marriage are maximized when the husband is specialized in market production and the wife in household tasks. This framework further predicts that women's increasing levels of educational attainment and labor force participation could substitute for the financial support or contribution of a husband and result in a decrease in the gains of marriage for each partner and the desirability of marriage. Becker's theory suggests that having a good position in the labor market will likely facilitate marriage among men but reduce marriage among women.On the other hand, Oppenheimer's (1988) theory of marriage timing suggests that a woman's high earnings are potentially associated positively with her attractiveness as a marriage partner, particularly after each has completed school, started a job, and reduced uncertainty about their future work roles. Accordingly, in most industrialized countries young men's labor-market position has deteriorated substantially over the past several decades, largely owing to the shift toward a professionalized occupational structure, a decline in well-paying manufacturing jobs, and an increase in more precarious jobs. …

Single Motherhood and the Abolition of Coverture in the United States

Under the common-law system of coverture in the United States, a married woman relinquished control of property and wages to her husband. Many U.S. states passed acts between 1850 and 1920 that expanded a married woman’s right to keep her market earnings and to own separate property. The former were called married women’s earnings acts (MWEAs) and the latter married women’s property acts (MWPAs). Scholarly interest in the acts’ effects is growing. Researchers have examined how the acts affected outcomes such as women's wealth-holding and educational attainment. The acts' impact on women’s non-marital birth decisions remains unexamined, however. We postulate that the acts caused women to anticipate greater benefits from having children within rather than outside of marriage. We thus expect passage of MWPAs and MWEAs to reduce the likelihood that single women become mothers of young children. We use probit regression to analyze individual data from the U.S. Census for the years 1860 to 1920. We find that the property acts in fact reduced the likelihood that single women have young children. We also find that the “de-coverture” acts’ effects were stronger for literate women, U.S.-born women, in states with higher female labor-force participation, and in more rural states, consistent with predictions.

Sex differences in the relationship between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundLow socioeconomic status (SES) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) but whether its effects are comparable in women and men is unknown.MethodsPubMed MEDLINE was systematically searched. Studies...

Trust and Fertility Dynamics.

We argue that the divergence in fertility trends in advanced societies is influenced by the interaction of long-standing differences in generalized trust with the increase in women's educational attainment. Our argument builds on the idea that trust enhances individuals' and couples' willingness to outsource childcare to outside their extended family. This becomes critically important as women's increased education enhances the demand for combining work and family life. We test our hypothesis using data from the World Values Survey and European Values Study on 36 industrialized countries between the years 1981 and 2009. Multilevel statistical analyses reveal that the interaction between national-level generalized trust and cohort-level women's education is positively associated with completed fertility. As education among women expands, high levels of generalized trust moderate fertility decline.

Brides for Sale: Cross-Border Marriages and Female Immigration

Every year, a large number of women migrate as brides from developing countries to developed countries in East Asia. This phenomenon virtually did not exist in the early 1990s, but foreign brides currently comprise 4 to 35 percent of newlyweds in these developed Asian countries. This paper argues that two factors account for this rapid increase in “bride importation”: the rapid growth of women's educational attainment and a cultural norm that leads to low net surplus of marriage for educated women. We provide empirical evidence supporting our theoretical model and its implications, using datasets from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Social constraints and women's education: Evidence from Afghanistan under radical religious rule

We analyze how growing up under Taliban rule affects Afghan women's educational attainments and subsequent labor market and fertility outcomes. While in power from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled a large portion of the Afghan territory and introduced a ban on girls’ education. Using data from the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment survey, we rely on the fact that, depending on their year of birth and province of residence, individuals differed in the number of years they were exposed to the Taliban government while of school age. Our difference-in-differences estimates show that an additional year of exposure to the Taliban occupation while of school age reduces a woman's probability of completing basic education by about two percentage points. The effects on educational outcomes are larger in Pashtun districts and rural areas. These findings are not due to the 1992 introduction of the provisional Islamist government that preceded the Taliban, cultural differences related to ethnicity, or varying emigration rates across provinces. The estimates are robust to differences across provinces in the number of violent events before, during, and after the Taliban occupation. Women exposed to the Taliban’s radical religious rule while they were of school age are also less likely to be employed outside of the household and more likely to have an agricultural job within the household. For fertility choices, exposure to the Taliban occupation increases total number of children and lowers age at first marriage. We discuss our empirical findings against theoretical economic literature on radical religious groups (e.g., Iannaccone, 1992; Berman, 2000).

Marriage Before 16 or 18 years: The Effect of Marital Age on Women’s Educational Attainment in Bangladesh

In spite of the high prevalence of child marriage in Bangladesh, studies of its effect on the educational attainment of women are limited. We sought to answer the following questions: To what extent does the effect of child marriage on educational attainment vary for women married below 16 and below 18 years of age? Secondly, how does age at first marriage affect a woman’s length of participation in school? Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted by using the 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, which included 17,749 respondents who were ever-married women aged 15-49. Child marriage before age 16 (as compared with 18) leads to a higher rate of incomplete secondary education, and a lower rate of educational attainment for women. A one-year decrease in age at first marriage leads to six months loss of education for women. For this reason, we recommend that the government refrain from fixing the legal age of marriage at age 16 for women.

Against the Wind: Labor Force Participation of Women and Economic Instability in Iran

ABSTRACTIn the last three decades, Iranian women's educational attainment has continuously increased while their fertility rate has fallen rapidly. Yet in spite of these developments, which in many countries have a positive effect on women's labor force participation, female labor force participation (FLFP) rates have remained at low levels. This paper argues that despite its overall static trend, FLFP of some Iranian women responded to economic pressures induced by macroeconomic instabilities. Looking at the Iranian economic crisis of 1994–5, the study shows that, controlling for individual fixed effects, married women in rural areas and never-married women in urban areas increased their participation rate by as much as 38 percent. No change in hours worked was found for any group of women. The differences in responses and their underlying reasons have policy implications for many developing countries.

The Public Policy Roots of Women's Increasing College Degree Attainment: The National Defense Education Act of 1958 and the Higher Education Act of 1965

How do we explain the steep increase in women's higher educational attainment that began in the mid-twentieth century and has continued, unchecked, in subsequent decades? Although many point to the emergence of feminism and the creation of Title IX in the 1970s as the origins of this trend, I argue that two federal student aid programs—the National Defense Education Act of 1958 and the Higher Education Act of 1965—helped set the stage for women to surpass men as the recipients of bachelor's degrees. Using historical analysis of primary and secondary resources, I present two related case studies that demonstrate the central role that unique political contexts and nondiscriminatory program administration have played in lawmakers' capacity to promote equal opportunity through public policy. This study suggests that women's increasing college degree attainment has important, but frequently overlooked, public policy roots.

Changes and socioeconomic factors associated with attitudes towards domestic violence among Vietnamese women aged 15–49: findings from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, 2006–2011

BackgroundUnderstanding factors associated with domestic violence-supportive attitudes among Vietnamese women is important for designing effective policies to prevent this behavior. Previous studies have largely overlooked risk factors associated with domestic violence-supportive attitudes by women in Vietnam.ObjectiveThis paper explores and identifies socioeconomic factors that contribute to domestic violence–supportive attitudes among Vietnamese women using data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).DesignSecondary data from two cross-sectional studies (MICS 3, 2006, and MICS 4, 2011) with representative samples (9,471 and 11,663 women, respectively) in Vietnam were analyzed. The prevalence of supportive attitudes toward domestic violence and associations with age, residence region, area, education level, household wealth index, ethnicity, and marital status were estimated using descriptive statistics and multivariate Poisson models, giving estimates of relative risk.ResultsOverall, the prevalence of acceptance of domestic violence declined between 2006 and 2011 in Vietnam (65.1% vs. 36.1%). Socioeconomic factors associated with women's condoning of domestic violence were age, wealth, education level, and living area. In particular, younger age and low educational attainment were key factors associated with violence-supportive attitudes, and these associations have become stronger over time.ConclusionHigher educational attainment in women is an important predictor of women's attitudes toward domestic violence. To date, Doi Moi and the Vietnamese government's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals may have positively contributed to lowering the acceptance of domestic violence. Tailored interventions that focus on education will be important in further changing attitudes toward domestic violence.

Strategies to Empower Saudi Women's Educational Attainment and Work

This research attempts to build strategies to empower Saudi women's educational attainment and work through reframing of social welfare strategies. The findings of a major study are reported here.

Extending health insurance in Ghana: effects of the National Health Insurance Scheme on maternity care.

BackgroundThere is considerable interest in exploring the potential of social health insurance in Africa where a number of countries are currently experimenting with different approaches. Since these schemes have been introduced recently and are continuously evolving, it is important to evaluate their effectiveness in the enhancement of health care utilization and reduction of out-of-pocket expenses for potential policy suggestions.ObjectiveTo investigate how the National Health Insurance Schemes (NHIS) in Ghana affects the utilization of maternal health care services and medical out-of-pocket expenses.MethodsWe used nationally-representative household data from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). We analyzed the 2014 GDHS focusing on four outcome variables, i.e. antenatal check up, delivery in a health facility, delivery assisted by a trained person and out-of-pocket expenditure. We estimated probit and bivariate probit models to take into account the issue of self selection into the health insurance schemes.ResultsThe results suggest that, also taking into account the issue of self selection into the health insurance schemes, the NHIS enrollment positively affects the probability of formal antenatal check-ups before delivery, the probability of delivery in an institution and the probability of being assisted during delivery by a trained person. On the contrary, we find that, once the issue of self-selection is taken into account, the NHIS enrollment does not have a significant effect on out-of-pocket expenditure at the extensive margin.ConclusionSince a greater utilization of health-care services has a strong positive effect on the current and future health status of women and their children, the health-care authorities in Ghana should make every effort to extend this coverage. In particular, since the results of the first step of the bivariate probit regressions suggest that the educational attainment of women is a strong determinant of enrollment, and those with low education and unable to read are less likely to enroll, information on the NHIS should be disseminated in ways that reach those with little or no education. Moreover, the availability of government health facilities in a region is associated with higher likelihood of enrollment in the NHIS. Accordingly, extending geographical access is an important strategy for expanding NHIS membership and improving access to health-care.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13561-016-0083-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Biological and Sociocultural Factors During the School Years Predicting Women's Lifetime Educational Attainment.

Lifetime educational attainment is an important predictor of health and well-being for women in the United States. In this study, we examine the roles of sociocultural factors in youth and an understudied biological life event, pubertal timing, in predicting women's lifetime educational attainment. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort (N = 3889), we conducted sequential multivariate linear regression analyses to investigate the influences of macro-level and family-level sociocultural contextual factors in youth (region of country, urbanicity, race/ethnicity, year of birth, household composition, mother's education, and mother's age at first birth) and early menarche, a marker of early pubertal development, on women's educational attainment after age 24. Pubertal timing and all sociocultural factors in youth, other than year of birth, predicted women's lifetime educational attainment in bivariate models. Family factors had the strongest associations. When family factors were added to multivariate models, geographic region in youth, and pubertal timing were no longer significant. Our findings provide additional evidence that family factors should be considered when developing comprehensive and inclusive interventions in childhood and adolescence to promote lifetime educational attainment among girls.

Factors associated with utilization of antenatal care services among tribal women: A study of selected States.

Background & objectives:Despite various efforts by the Government of India, utilization of antenatal care (ANC) services continues to be low among women from rural areas particularly those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. The present study was undertaken to examine the factors associated with the utilization of ANC services among women in four States including Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh which constitute a good share of tribal population of the country.Methods:Data from third round of District Level Household and Facility Survey, 2007-08 (DLHS-3) have been used. Bivariate and multivariate analyses (logistic regression model) were used to study the association between the utilization of ANC services and the independent variables at individual, household and village levels along with the motivational factors (motivation by health workers and family members).Results:The utilization of ANC services among Scheduled Tribes women varied from about 4 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to 10-14 per cent in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Utilization was highest among those women with level of education 9th class and above (15-28%) and those women who visited health facility for pregnancy confirmation test (9-27%). Across the States, women who visited health facility for pregnancy testing (adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 1.5-2.5; P<0.001) except in Madhya Pradesh; registration of pregnancy (AOR = 2.1-4.5; P<0.01) and sought treatment of pregnancy related problems (AOR = 1.5-1.8; P<0.06) except in Rajasthan, were more likely to avail complete ANC services than their counterparts.Interpretation & conclusions:The utilization of antenatal care among Scheduled Tribe women across four States was very poor. The reasons behind non-utilisation include both socio-economic and health system factors. For improving ANC utilization among tribes, these factors need to be addressed with special emphasis on woman's educational attainment of high school and above. In addition, the study highlighted the need to create awareness among both pregnant tribal women as well as her family members on the importance of early ANC care.

Educational differences in early childbearing

Recent research on fertility in industrialized countries focuses primarily on delayed childbearing, despite the facts that large numbers of women continue to enter parenthood at relatively young ages and that early childbearing has been linked to economic disadvantage. This cross-national comparative study describes relationships between women's educational attainment and young age at first birth and evaluates the extent to which these differences have changed over time for women born 1955-1981. Defining 'early' childbearing as the age by which 20% of first births have occurred to women in a given birth cohort and country, we describe differences in early childbearing by educational attainment across three cohorts of women in 20 countries. We find a strong negative educational gradient in early childbearing across all 20 countries and some evidence of an increase in the relative prevalence of early childbearing among the least-educated women. In 10 countries, the relative prevalence of early childbearing among women with low education is significantly higher for one or both of the more recent birth cohorts compared to the earliest cohort. However, many countries show no significant change, and in one country (Poland) there is modest evidence of a decreasing educational gap. Evidence that educational differences in early childbearing have grown in some countries is generally consistent with the notion of family bifurcation and 'diverging destinies' by socioeconomic status. However, the pattern is not universal and future work should examine the various factors that shape these patterns, including the role of public policies.

The mediating effect of effort-reward imbalance in household and family work on the relationship between education and women's health

Occupational stress as a key determinant for explaining health inequalities has been well established while the impact of stress related to family work has rarely been considered. This study investigates whether stress in household and family work may contribute to health inequalities in women. We used a population-based sample of German mothers (n = 3129) to determine the total, direct and indirect effects of education on somatic complaints by means of OLS regression-based mediation models. Inference about indirect effects was determined by 95% bias corrected bootstrap confidence intervals. Education was assessed by a measure combining school education and vocational training. Stress was measured using the adopted effort-reward-imbalance (ERI) questionnaire for household and family work. The von Zerssen list of somatic complaints was used as measure of subjective health. We found a significant total effect of education on somatic complaints (p ≤ 0.001) as well as significant indirect effects through ‘effort’ (p = 0.006) and ‘reward’ in household and family work (p ≤ 0.001). However, the subscales of ERI pointed into different directions: while levels of ‘effort’ increased with women's educational attainment, levels of distress related to low ‘reward’ decreased with higher levels of education. Our findings suggest that the effect of women's education on somatic complaints is mediated through stress related to low reward for household and family work. In particular, lack of ‘societal esteem’ for household and family work contributed to health disadvantages in lower educated mothers. We conclude that research on health inequality would benefit from taking stressful experiences in household and family work greater into account.

Family resources and male–female educational attainment: Sex specific trends for Dutch cohorts (1930–1984)

This study investigates cross-temporal gender differences in the effects of family resources on educational attainment in the Netherlands. Our research question reads: to what extent has the influence of parental socio-economic features, cultural resources and school involvement on the educational attainment of women and men in the Netherlands changed over time? Employing three waves of the Family Survey Dutch Population (N=6059), we test our hypotheses on the changing impact of parental background characteristics on male–female educational attainment. A general expectation is that all family resources have become more favorable to girls over time. Our results first show that especially in the earlier cohorts the effects of parental educational resources were gender-specific: mother's education affected women's educational attainment most, whereas father's education predominantly influenced men's. Second, our results indicate that only for girls, growing up with a working mother becomes increasingly beneficial over time. Finally, the impact of father's occupational resources seems to lose importance over time faster for boys than for girls.

Gender Equality (F)or Economic Growth? Effects of Reducing the Gender Gap in Education on Economic Growth in OECD Countries

This paper assesses the extent to which the increase in women's human capital, as measured by educational attainment, has contributed to economic growth in OECD countries over the past five decades. Using longitudinal cross-country data covering 30 countries from 1960 to 2008 on education (the Barro-Lee dataset) and growth (update of OECD data), our results point out a positive and significant impact ofthe increase in women's educational attainment relative to men on output per capita growth - as measuredby GDP per capita. Our results are robust to the distinction between sub-periods and indicate that the effect of the equalisation of years of completed education on economic growth has been higher in the most recent periods. Results also hold when countries with an above-average increase in years of completed education are removed from the sample.

FEMALE EDUCATION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH CHANGES IN SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC BEHAVIOUR: EVIDENCE FROM INDIA.

Education is a crucial factor in influencing the pattern and timing of marriage for women, and the changes in levels of female literacy will also change the dynamics of family formation. India has experienced consistent improvement in levels of female literacy; therefore, this study examined the association of women's education with the changes in their demographic behaviour in the Indian context. The central idea of the paper is to examine the differences in age at marriage and first birth, choice of marriage partner and the number of children ever born based on educational attainment of women. In addition, the study examined incongruence in years of schooling and discontinuation from school, for children based on education of the mother. The study utilized data from the third round of District Level Household and Facility Survey. The sample constituted 344,164 ever-married women aged 35 years and above with surviving children aged 5-20 years. The results imply that women with higher education are more likely to marry late and have fewer children compared with less educated women. Accordingly, increase in education of women also increases the probability of marrying men with better education than themselves. The study further observed that education of wife has a greater association with the number of children ever born than the education of husband. At the same time, incongruence in years of schooling and drop-out from school are both high for children of uneducated women. The study also found that the children from urban areas are more likely to drop out than their rural counterparts. In addition to education of the mother, number and composition of children in the family and economic condition of the household are some other factors that influence the educational attainment of children.

Orphan/vulnerable child caregiving moderates the association between women's autonomy and their BMI in three African countries

Enhancement of women's autonomy is a key factor for improving women's health and nutrition. With nearly 12 million orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) in Africa due to HIV/AIDS, the study of OVC primary caregivers' nutrition is fundamental. We investigated the association between married women's autonomy and their nutritional status; explored whether this relationship was modified by OVC primary caregiving; and analyzed whether decision-making autonomy mediated the association between household wealth and body mass index (BMI). This cross-sectional study used the data from Demographic Health Surveys collected during 2006–2007 from 20- to 49-year-old women in Namibia (n = 2633), Swaziland (n = 1395), and Zambia (n = 2920). Analyses included logistic regression, Sobel, and Goodman tests. Our results indicated that women's educational attainment increased the odds for being overweight (Swaziland and Zambia) and decreased the odds for being underweight (Namibia). In Zambia, having at least primary education increased the odds for being overweight only among child primary caregivers regardless of the OVC status of the child, and having autonomy for buying everyday household items increased the odds for being overweight only among OVC primary caregivers. Decision-making autonomy mediated the association between household wealth and OVC primary caregivers' BMI in Zambia (Z = 2.13, p value = 0.03). We concluded that depending on each country's contextual characteristics, having education can decrease the odds for being an underweight woman or increase the odds for being an overweight woman. Further studies should explore why in Namibia education has an effect on women's overweight status only among women who are caring for a child.