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Begin New Search Topic Adolescence Political Geography Latin America

1. Abortion Legalization and Adolescent Fertility: New Evidence for Uruguay Based on the Synthetic Control Method

Author:
Rafael-Andrés Velázquez-Pérez
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:
Following abortion legalization in Uruguay in late 2012, adolescent fertility rate fell by more than half. This paper aims at establishing a causality relationship. To estimate the impact of the abortion reform on adolescent fertility I use the Synthetic Control Method by comparing trends of Uruguay with Latin America and the Caribbean countries with restrictive abortion laws. Results suggest adolescent fertility rate was reduced in the postreform period by an average of 8.3 births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19, a decline of almost 15% with respect to the synthetic control unit. In-space placebos indicate this effect is statistically significant at the 5% level. This conclusion holds after conducting an in-time placebo test and a leave-one-out test. To the present time, evidence on the impact of Uruguayan abortion legalization on adolescent fertility that has addressed endogeneity is mixed, and based entirely on identification strategies that exploit different sources of exogenous within-country variation that determines the exposure to the reform. My contribution here is to exploit between-country variation, bringing new evidence to the on-going debate.
Topic:
Adolescence, Fertility, Abortion, and Synthetic Control Method
Political Geography:
Uruguay and Latin America

2. Understanding teenage fertility, cohabitation, and marriage: the case of Peru

Author:
Marta Favara, Pablo Lavado, and Alan Sanchez
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
Abstract:
In this study, the authors used data from the Young Lives study, which inves­tigates teenage childbearing, marriage, and cohabitation by tracking a cohort of individuals from the ages of 8 to 19 years. While the present analysis does not intend to establish causality, the longitudi­nal nature of the data allows the researchers to identify the combination of early circumstances and life changes that induce a higher likelihood of these events. The analysis addresses bias due both to reverse causality and to community characteristics that are usually unobserved and fixed over time, a strategy that is quite unique in studies of developing countries. About 1 out of 5 females (and 1 out of 20 males) in our sample had at least one child by the age of 19, and 80 percent of them were married or cohabiting. Early marriage/cohabitation is indeed intrinsically re­lated to early pregnancy and largely predicted by the same factors. For females specifically, girls from poor households with an absent parent for a prolonged period have a higher risk of early childbearing. Similarly, girls whose self-efficacy and educational aspirations decrease over time are more at risk of becoming a mother during adolescence. Conversely, school attendance and better school performance predict a lower risk of early pregnancy; the analysis suggests that this is largely because it postpones the first sexual relationship.
Topic:
Health, Children, Sexuality, Public Health, Young Adults, and Adolescence
Political Geography:
Latin America and Peru