The Demand Side of Africa's Demographic Transition: Desired Fertility, Wealth, and Jobs. by Céline Zipfel

Join us for the latest Applied Economics Research Seminar Series event, Autumn Term 2022.

Céline Zipfel from the Stockholm School of Economics will present this seminar on The Demand Side of Africa's Demographic Transition: Desired Fertility, Wealth, and Jobs.

Abstract

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounts for around 40% of global births projected over the rest of this century. To investigate the roots of persistently high fertility rates across the region, I assemble micro data from 182 Demographic and Health Surveys covering 66 developing countries, and document three key facts. First, women’s fertility ideals and intentions are, on average, substantially higher in SSA than other low- and middle-income regions. Second, this gap is particularly large among poorer households: the socioeconomic gradient in desired fertility is twice as steep (more negative) on the sub-continent. Third, exploiting within-SSA variation across 25 countries, I find that increases in female salaried employment opportunities at the sub-national level are associated with a flattening of this gradient over time, conditional on a rich set of covariates. These findings constitute suggestive evidence that the nature of SSA’s occupational change process may be an important contributor to the region’s distinct fertility transition. 

The seminar will begin with a presentation and will end with a Q and A session.

It will be held in the Economics Common Room at 2pm on Thursday 1st December. This event is open to all levels of study and is also open to the public. To register your place and gain access to the webinar, please contact the seminar organisers.

This event is part of the Applied Economics Research Seminar Series.