Income inequality and adolescent fertility in low-income countries

• Main Authors: Ruben Castro, Eduardo Fajnzylber
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz 2017-09-01
• Series: Cadernos de Saúde Pública
• Subjects: Iniquidade Social; Fertilidade; Países em Desenvolvimento; Adolescente
• Online Access: http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2017001205006&lng=en&tlng=en

Abstract: The well-known socioeconomic gradient in health does not imply that income inequality by itself has any effect on well-being. However, there is evidence of a positive association between income inequality and adolescent fertility across countries. Nevertheless, this key finding is not focused on low-income countries. This study applies a multilevel logistic regression of country-level adolescent fertility on country-level income inequality plus individual-level income and controls to the Demographic and Health Surveys data. A negative association between income inequality and adolescent fertility was found among low-income countries, controlling for income (OR = 0.981; 95%CI: 0.963-0.999). Different measures and different subsamples of countries show the same results. Therefore, the international association between income inequality and adolescent fertility seems more complex than previously thought.