ECONOMICS OF FAMILY SIZE: THE CASE OF THE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES OF KENYA AND NIGERIA.
Item
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Title
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ECONOMICS OF FAMILY SIZE: THE CASE OF THE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES OF KENYA AND NIGERIA.
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Identifier
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AAI8023686
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identifier
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8023686
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Creator
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AMOBI, NNAMDI KEN.
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Contributor
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Michael Grossman
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Date
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1980
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Economics, General
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Abstract
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In this thesis, models based on the theory of human fertility behavior pioneered by Becker and others, is constructed and tested in a multivariate context on survey data sets from Kenya and Nigeria. These models are however modified wherever possible to capture behaviors which are peculiar to the developing economies of Africa.;In these economies child rearing by the mother tends to be carried out simultaneously with labor market activities. Also parents transform part of their present income into future consumption opportunities by old age support from their children. Marriage patterns of polygamy exist and household units tend to have the extended-family influence.;Using static models, the effects on desired fertility of family income, duration of marriage, age of wife, education of wife, labor force participation of wife, infant mortality, polygamy, sex composition of the family, and the interaction variable (of lifetime family income and value of wife's time) are investigated. In a simultaneous equations context the determinants of the quality and quantity of children are also investigated. A sequential model, in which the dependent variable becomes the additional number of children desired, is constructed and tested.;The following findings are noteworthy: (1) Family income exhibits a positive and strong influence on family size. (2) Education of the wife has a negative effect on fertility. (3) Duration of marriage has a positive influence on family size; while age of wife shows a positive effect on family size when duration of marriage is omitted. (4) Infant mortality rate has an inverse influence on fertility. (5) Polygamy has no significant effect on fertility. (6) As the proportion of sons increases family size increases thus indicating that the 'price' influence is stronger than the 'taste' influence of the sex composition of the family on fertility. (7) Migration; Family Planning Practices; and Separate Habitation of Married Couples all depress fertility. (8) The interaction variable of wife's education and lifetime family income has negative while the individual variables have positive effects on family size. Thus the interaction model explains the non-linear effects of family income and wife's education on fertility. (9) The income elasticity of quantity of children and the income elasticity of quality of children are both positive, but the former is larger. (10) From the sequential model analysis of additional number of sons desired, the motive of a least one son is found to be quite strong.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Economics
