Marital Fertility Transition in Patriarchal Ghana: The Falls, the Stalls and the Drivers

Pedzisai Ndagurwa , University of the Witwatersrand
Clifford O. Odimegwu, University of the Witwatersrand

Marital fertility transition in sub-Saharan Africa has received little academic inquiry with greater focus being on transitions of total fertility rates despite that most of the fertility in Africa occurs in marriages. This study contributes to filling this gap by investigating the potential drivers of marital fertility trends in Ghana. A three-tier analytical strategy employing Poisson regression, multilevel linear regression and threefold Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique was applied to Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys 1988-2014. Results showed that marital fertility to have great influence on TFR trends. While standard regressions explain cross-sectional variability in fertility, decomposition analysis estimated that factors besides observable community-level and individual-level variables have driven trends in TMFRs. Loosening pro-natal patriarchal values will potentially lead to accelerated fertility decline in Ghana.

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 Presented in Session 1. Fertility, Family Planning, Sexual Behavior, & Reproductive Health 1