SOCIO-ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF FERTILITY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SUB-SAHARA AFRICA
Amade Peter, Augustine Sunday , Adamu Idi , Iliya James and Dauda Zira
Volume 9 Issue 2
Abstract
Demographic changes are evident in the advanced countries in Europe through aging population and replacement fertility rates, while demographic transition seems to have stalled in the sub-Sahara African region because of unprecedented fertility rate. This study examined the socio-economic determinants of fertility in sub-Sahara Africa using dynamic panel estimation technique of System GMM from 1990 to 2022. Data for a cross section of 48 sub-Sahara countries were collected from the World Development Indicators database of the World Bank. The result of the SGMM estimation revealed that female population, per-capita GDP, Inflation, female labour force participation rate as well as female secondary school enrollment had negative impact on total fertility rate. On the other hand, child mortality rate, urbanization and contraceptives prevalence had positive impact and significant on total fertility rate in SSA. The study recommends among others that governments of various countries in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) should use pragmatic measures to enhance female secondary school enrollment, completion and overall female education especially in rural areas by implementing a subsidy scheme or a free education policy to enhance female education with the objective of reducing total fertility rate in the region. Keywords: Fertility, Inflation, Per-Capita GNP, Labour Force, and sub-Sahara Africa
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