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The Proximate Determinants of the Decline to Below‐replacement Fertility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Author(s) -
Sibanda Amson,
Woubalem Zewdu,
Hogan Dennis P.,
Lindstrom David P.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
studies in family planning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1728-4465
pISSN - 0039-3665
DOI - 10.1111/j.1728-4465.2003.00001.x
Subject(s) - fertility , total fertility rate , demography , marital status , family planning , socioeconomics , birth rate , developing country , geography , population , economics , research methodology , economic growth , sociology
Between 1990 and 2000, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Ethiopia declined moderately from 6.4 to 5.9 children per woman of reproductive age. During the same period, the TFR in the capital city of Addis Ababa declined from 3.1 to 1.9 children per woman. Even more striking than the magnitude of this decline is that it occurred in the absence of a strong and effective national family planning program. In this study, the components of this fertility decline are identified using the Bongaarts framework of the proximate determinants of fertility. The results of a decomposition analysis indicate that a decrease in the age‐specific proportions of women who are married, followed by an increase in contraceptive use are the most important mechanisms by which fertility has declined in Addis Ababa. Poor employment prospects and relatively high housing costs are likely factors that encourage couples to delay marriage and reduce marital fertility.