Women's Schooling and Men's Dominance: Competing Influences on Female Bodies

Laurie DeRose, University of Maryland
F. Nii-Amoo Dodoo, Pennsylvania State University

Despite widespread agreement that championing women's education will lower fertility, little is known about the extent to which men's dominance over reproductive decisions persists even when women's education is on the rise. Using data spanning the onset of fertility transition in Ghana, we show that men's relative influence among couples with discordant reproductive goals increased significantly, while the effect of women's education on contraceptive use decreased significantly. Overall, improvements in women's schooling do not seem to have enhanced their reproductive autonomy. Instead, fertility decline has been propelled relatively more by reductions in men's reproductive goals.