The stability paradox : why expansion of education for women has not delayed age at first union or childbearing in Latin America
Esteve, Albert (Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics)
Florez-Paredes, Elizabeth (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Date:	2018
Abstract:	Despite substantial improvements in women's education, the age atwhich Latin American women marry (cohabit) or become mothers for the first time has barely decreased over the past four decades. We refer to this as the "stability paradox. " We examine the relationship between years of schooling and transitions to first union or child, analyzing retrospective information from 50 cohorts of women born between 1940 and 1989 in 12 Latin American countries. Absolute and relative measures of schooling are compared. Data is drawn from 38 Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 1986 and 2012 in these countries. Results show that expected postponement in family transitions due to educational expansion was offset by a rise in union formation and childbearing within strata of absolute education, but stayed approximately constant within strata of relative education. The relative measure of education retains the stratifying power of education but neutralizes any effect attached to a specific number of years of schooling and the learning skills associated with them. This is consistent with the idea that access to education in Latin America reproduces existing patterns of socioeconomic advantage, rather than creating a more equitable distribution of learning opportunities and outcomes.
Grants:	European Commission 637768 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CSO2015-64713-R
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Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Education ; Women ; Age at first union ; Age at first childbearing ; Latin America ; Demographic health surveys
Published in:	Studies in family planning, Vol. 49 Núm. 2 (2018) , p. 127-142, ISSN 1728-4465

DOI: 10.1111/sifp.12055

Postprint 32 p, 1.3 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Social and Legal Sciences > Centre for Demographic Studies (CED-CERCA)
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Articles > Published articles