Increasing female education level as a factor of fertility decline in developing countries (case studies of Latin American countries)

Abstract

Studies conducted in developed countries show a persisting differentiation of fertility and reproductive orientations depending on the level of education. We show that this differentiation persists at the stage of the completion of the demographic transition, as well. An in-depth analysis of modern fertility indicators of a number of Latin American countries based on the data of national censuses confirmed a relationship between an increase in the level of education of women and a decrease in the birth rates. The average number of children born in real cohorts of women and the general dynamics of this indicator over time vary significantly among groups of women with different levels of education. The results confirm that educational status is one of the significant factors determining the differences in fertility and reproductive behavior. An increase in the proportion of women with a relatively higher level of education contributes to lower fertility rates in Latin American countries. At the same time, the differentiating factor is probably not the very fact of achieving a particular education level, but the system of value orientations that is characteristic of people with a given level of education.