Female unemployment and fertility rates in developing world: The role of economic, educational and institutional thresholds - Dataset and replication codes
Description
This dataset contains all data used for econometric analysis in the paper entitled "Female unemployment and fertility rates in developing world: The role of economic, educational and institutional thresholds". The replication codes for Stata can be found in the file "Fertility_unemployment.do". The paper examines the effect of female unemployment on the total fertility rate across 123 developing countries. Using dynamic panel threshold regression to address endogeneity, the research uncovers a nonlinear relationship, showing an inverted U-shaped pattern. Fertility rates peak when female unemployment reaches approximately 11.5%, but begin to decline as unemployment rises further. The impact varies by economic context, with GDP per capita playing a key role. In countries where GDP per capita is below $5,890, higher female unemployment tends to increase fertility, whereas in wealthier countries, it reduces fertility. Additionally, female education serves as a moderating factor, with higher educational levels associated with delayed childbirth. Improved institutional quality also correlates with lower fertility as female unemployment increases. These findings highlight critical thresholds that deepen our understanding of the intricate relationship between female unemployment and fertility in developing nations, offering valuable insights for policy measures aimed at managing fertility transitions.
Files
Steps to reproduce
The steps to reproduce the results are included in the file "Fertility_unemployment.do". After importing the dataset to Stata, use the codes which follows the order of appearance of tables and figures in the paper.