Fertility and Educational Pairing in Latin America: An Analysis through Cohort Fertility
Everton E. C. Lima, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)
José Henriqe Monteiro da Silva, Unicamp
Maria Coleta Oliveira, Unicamp
Many Latin America are marked over the years by a general fertility decline trend towards replacement level. In this process, couple’s education plays an important role in shaping individual’s behavior and, therefore, influences on marital and reproductive decisions. Past studies have pointed out that the educational expansion in the region was strongly related to women reproductive intentions, but little is known about the role of husband’s schooling herein. In this context, this work aims to analyze the role of couple’s education attainment on cohort fertility of six countries in the region. Our results show relevant effects regarding women educational attainment on cohort fertility levels. The effects of the husband’s schooling on fertility were somewhat lower for Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. However, Brazil and Chile showed noticeable cohort fertility differentials according to male’s schooling, especially among old cohorts, but a reduced effect among younger cohorts. These results suggest that the achieved number of children in household, especially in recent periods, became much more determined by wife’s educational levels.
Presented in Session 111: Education and Fertility