Gender,lineage, and fertility‐related outcomes in Ghana

A growing literature examines the empirical relationship between the joint reproductive preferences of marital partners and reproductive outcomes in Africa. Less explored is how spousal power in decision making may be influenced by lineage type. Using pooled data from Ghana, we investigate how lineage affects gendered reproductive decision outcomes and find some evidence that matrilineal women are more able than nonmatrilineal women to translate their reproductive preferences into action consistent with their goals.     

Men matter: Additive and interactive gendered preferences and reproductive behavior in kenya

The extent of men’s roles in reproductive decision-making in Africa is a subject of contention. Despite the volume of work on the roles men play in fertility decisions, there have been few attempts to derive direct empirical estimates of the effect of men’s preferences on reproductive behavior. I employ 1989 and 1993 Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys to examine the relative roles of the reproductive preferences of males and females on contraceptive use. Additive and interactive measures of preferences document a significant effect of men’s preferences, which may eclipse women’s preferences. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The role of intergenerational transfers,land, and education in fertility transition in rural Kenya: the case of Nyeri district

This qualitative study reveals how population pressures, land availability, inheritance norms, and educational opportunities intertwine to influence fertility decline in rural Kenya. Focus group discussions with men and women whose childbearing occurred both before and after the onset of rapid, unexpected fertility transition in Nyeri, Kenya allowed individuals who actually participated in, or witnessed, the fertility transition to “voice” their perceptions as to the mechanisms underlying the transition. Findings suggest that, since land inheritance is a cultural norm, land scarcity and diminishing farm size often influence fertility decision-making and behavior via preferences for fewer children. Further, education does not appear to be the driving cause of fertility behavior change, but rather is adopted as a substitute for land inheritance when land resources are scarce. These findings have implications for our understanding of fertility behavior as well as for improving predictions of fertility transition in other rural sub-Saharan African contexts.     

A couple analysis of micro-level supply/demand factors in fertility regulation

Demographic research in developing countries has traditionally neglected the role of male input into reproductive decision making. This has contributed significantly to the general inability to resolve the fertility problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The principal aim of this study is to apply a joint- or couple-model to the analysis of one such population problem in order to illustrate the potential avenues that emerge when the input of male spouses is considered. The 1988 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey is used to examine the need for supply- and demand-side policy in achieving fertility declines. The data indicate that, although there is some evidence of the benefit of family planning programs, it appears that there is much room for further success. Also, there is a strong indication that the demand side of the fertility equation must be addressed more, by tackling the issue of individual motivations, particularly of males, for childbearing.     

Contraceptive behavior in Ghana: a two-sex model

This report uses data of the 1988 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), a nationally representative self-weighting sample of 4488 female respondents 15-49 years old. 943 co-resident husbands of the surveyed women were also interviewed, thus the data provided 1010 dyads, which facilitated a couple-level analysis of contraceptive behavior. The determinants of modern contraceptive adoption were examined among dependent variables, including both modern and traditional methods, and the predictors of future usage among the nonusers were also assessed. For each of dependent variables, two logistic regressions were estimated, one for females, and the second one for couple measures of intentions and male preferences. Males were older and more educated than their female counterparts, and women were more likely than men to want to cease and space childbearing. 68.8% of women were in monogamous marriages, and the average age of women was 31.8 years, compared to 41 years for men among 1008 people in the sample. 43.5% of women had lost more than 1 child, and 22.9% had urban residence. 11.7% of couples agreed that contraceptives were needed for stopping childbearing. However, 14.9% said that there was no need for contraception, while 27.7% wanted contraception for spacing of births. 46% of the sample disagreed about contraceptive need and use. 6% of the women used modern contraceptives, while 8.7% used traditional methods. In addition, 29.7% of the women intended to use contraception in the future, while 55.6% did not intend to do this. Examination of contraceptive use and selected background variables indicates urban-rural differences. Also, the advancing age of wives and all levels of female schooling means increasing contraceptive use, but secondary schooling was associated with lower use for men than primary schooling. Use of contraception was also positively associated with the desire to cease childbearing for both sexes whether users or non-users. The findings indicate that female preferences were more significant than male preferences in predicting contraceptive use in Ghana.     

Earnings differences among the Mexican-origin population in the United States: nativity and citizenship explanations

The authors "use data from the June 1986 Current Population Survey to investigate nativity and citizenship differences in earnings within the Mexican-origin population in the United States. There is no evidence of any ?costs' of nativity or citizenship status. Rather, the existing variation appears to be more than explained by the distribution of earnings-related endowments. In fact, there is evidence that immigrants are better rewarded for their lower endowments. A possible explanation is that the Mexican-origin population is seen as homogeneous by employers, who therefore compensate individuals similarly, regardless of their respective endowments."     

Blacks and earnings in New York State

This research seeks to explain why earnings differences among foreign‐born Jamaicans and native‐born blacks are significantly larger in New York State than they are throughout the United States. The findings indicate that the Jamaicans in New York State are less endowed in terms of earnings‐related attributes, relative to the native born, than they are nationwide. Furthermore, even though the Jamaicans in New York State definitely are more disadvantaged with respect to earnings, this is not a manifestation of more intense discrimination. In all actuality, discrimination accounts for a relatively smaller proportion of the earnings gap in the New York State case than in the national case.     

Local principal differential analysis: Graphical methods for functional data with covariates

We focus on principal differential analysis (PDA) of functional data for obtaining a low-dimensional representation of a collection of curves. PDA assumes there exists a linear differential operator that results in the zero-function when it is applied to each of the data curves, or equivalently, that the curves belong to a low-dimensional subspace of a normed linear space. PDA sets out to estimate this linear differential operator from the data and proceeds from there. Our contribution is to explain how subject covariates can be incorporated into a PDA analysis for graphical exploration of patterns in the data.     

RELATIVE SPOUSAL STATUS AND CHILD HEALTH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: The Case of Ghana

This research examines the relationship between gender relations and decisions regarding child health and investigates the hypothesis that, in sub-Saharan Africa, the health of children is hampered by low levels of female autonomy. Using data from Ghana's 1988 Demographic and Health Survey, the findings provide no support for a gender relations theory, suggesting that the relative power of spouses may not be as relevant in health and mortality decisions as it is in fertility.     

Explaining spousal differences in reproductive preferences: A gender inequality approach

Using data from the 1988 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey we show that, contrary to some earlier findings, substantial differences in fertility goals exist between spouses in sub-Saharan Africa. Further, we indicate that gender inequality is associated with these differences in fertility goals. Women in dyads that give nonnumeric responses to questions on preferred family size are very likely to have low status, which may lead them to have high fertility. The need for more research at the micro level is stressed, given the social, economic, and environmental costs of neglecting to do so.