Skip to main content
Log in

Fertility Decline and Child Schooling in Urban Settings of Burkina Faso

  • Published:
Demography

Abstract

As evidenced in Western rich countries, Asia, and Latin America, lower fertility allows couples to invest more in each of their children’s schooling. This postulate is the key rationale of family planning policies in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, most studies on Africa have found no correlation or even a positive relationship between the number of children in a family and their educational attainment. These mixed results are usually explained by African family solidarity and resource transfers that might reduce pressures on household resources occasioned by many births as well as methodological problems that have afflicted much research on the region. Our study aims to assess the impact of family size on children’s schooling in Ouagadougou (capital of Burkina Faso), using a better measure of household budget constraints and taking into account the simultaneity of fertility and schooling decisions. In contrast to most prior studies on sub-Saharan Africa, we find a net negative effect of sibship size on the level of schooling achieved by children—one that grows stronger as they progress through the educational system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Data can be found online (www.isp.bf/OPO/).

  2. The 2007 Loi d’orientation de l’éducation (Education Act) organized the educational system of Burkina Faso into five levels: kindergarten (lasting two to three years for children aged 3–6), primary school (lasting, in principle, six years for children aged 6–11), post-primary school (lasting four years for children aged 12–15), secondary school (lasting three years for children aged 16–18), and higher or university education (for which the theoretical admission age is 19). Kindergarten is not widespread and is the preserve of rich families, with only 10 % of eligible children enrolled in 2006 in the Center region that includes Ouagadougou. Before 2007, the official minimum age of admission to each level of education except kindergarten was one year higher than that currently in force. Because delays in initial enrolment and grade repetition are frequent, children are often older than the official age spans presented herein. Children cannot be admitted to primary school after age 9, and two grade repetitions are allowed in each educational cycle. Children who are likely to have attended primary school are thus typically at least 9 years old. Moreover, taking into account the various delays, children aged 14+ years are most likely to have attended post-primary; those aged 20+ years, to have attended secondary; and those aged 23+ years, to have completed secondary studies.

  3. Essentially all prior studies on this topic that sought to address endogeneity used instrumental variables that concerned only the couple’s own fertility: twins, miscarriages, and sex of children born. Similarly, the instrumental variable that is used in our study (subfecundity) refers to the couple’s own fertility. Yet, child fostering is also endogenous, and the selective circulation of children is an entirely different matter. For fostered children, the selection problem is more than simply anticipating costs of children and child quality (schooling) in fertility decisions.

  4. The way the question is asked in French, the second response clearly refers to biological inability to have more children. The third (other) response encompasses women, for example, who are planning to have additional births or who are divorced or widowed.

  5. As noted earlier, the number of siblings is a time-varying variable: the number of siblings that existed when the child in question was of the age to access a given schooling level. To some extent, parents’ behaviors will seek to anticipate the future, and their child schooling behaviors and strategies may be influenced by longer-term family-building plans and thus by the ultimate number of children they hope to have. When the regressions are reestimated using the total number of siblings born by the time of the survey (a time-invariant variable) instead of the number that existed when the child was of the age to access a schooling level, the results were very similar (results are not shown but are available upon request).

  6. There were 508 women who reported experiencing subfecundity problems, and 2,437 who reported not having experienced problems.

  7. Due to the sampling methodology used by the two surveys, the merged data set consisted of just 205 women and their husbands, of whom 32 reported being subfecund. The 2010 BHS was addressed to 2,351 adults aged 15 or older, and the Demtrend-2012 survey covered 2,952 women aged 35–59 years residing in the Ouaga HDSS zones with at least one child surviving to age 3. Childhood self-rated health was captured by the following question: “During most of the first 15 years of your life, would you say your health was excellent, good or bad? 1. Excellent, 2. Good, 3. Bad.” Long-standing health problems in adulthood were captured by a dichotomous question as follows: “Do you have a disease or a health problem that has lasted six months or longer (long-standing)? 1. Yes, 0. No.” Adulthood self-rated health was captured by the question: “In general, how do you consider your health today? 1. Excellent, 2. Good, 3. Bad, 4. Very bad.” Obesity was captured by the body mass index (BMI)— the ratio between body weight (in kg) and height (in meters) squared—with obesity (=1) when BMI ≥ 30.

  8. Because the estimated correlation of the disturbance terms in the ivprobit model for the schooling in early childhood (i.e., access to primary school) is statistically significant (see Table 4), we can assume that the OLS and IV coefficients for the educational attainment (which is a cumulative investment, including the schooling at primary school) are also statistically different.

  9. Given that the estimated correlation of the disturbance terms in the ivprobit model is not statistically significant for the access to post-primary and secondary school, we cannot reject the null hypothesis that family size is exogenous. Thus, the OLS estimates from the simple probit model may be appropriate and have smaller standard errors, but the IV estimates from ivprobit are consistent. This suggests that although selective fertility is clearly evident in the primary school enrolment, where schooling costs are relatively low, there is little evidence of such selectivity at higher levels of schooling, which incur much higher costs.

  10. Until 1985, the practice of modern contraception was illegal in Burkina Faso, subject to the Act of 1920 that prohibited the publicity and sale of contraceptive methods and products.

References

  • Ainsworth, M. (1992). Economic aspects of child fostering in Côte d’Ivoire (Working Paper No. 92). Washington, DC: World Bank.

  • Akresh, R. (2009). Flexibility of household structure: Child fostering decisions in Burkina Faso. Journal of Human Resources, 21, 976–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • André, G. (2007). Écoles, langues, cultures et développement. Une analyse des politiques éducatives, linguistiques et culturelles postcoloniales au Burkina Faso [Schools, languages, cultures and development. An analysis of educational, linguistic and cultural post-colonial policies in Burkina Faso]. Cahiers d’études africaines, 1, 221–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angrist, J. D., Lavy, V., & Schlosser, A. (2005). New evidence on the causal link between the quantity and quality of children (NBER Working Paper No. 11835). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

  • Anh, T., Knodel, J., Lam, D., & Friedman, J. (1998). Family size and children’s education in Vietnam. Demography, 35, 57–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Åslund, O., & Grönqvist, H. (2010). Family size and child outcomes: Is there really no trade-off? Labour Economics, 17, 130–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Assemblée Nationale du Burkina Faso. (2007). Loi n°013-2007/AN portant loi d’orientation de l’éducation [Act n°013-2007/AN termed orientation act of education]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Assemblée Nationale.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baez, J. E. (2008). Does more mean better? Sibling sex composition and the link between family size and children’s quality (IZA Discussion Paper No. 3472). Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

  • Baland, J. M., Bonjean, I., Guirkinger, C., & Ziparo, R. (2013). The economic consequences of solidarity in extended families (Working paper). Namur, France: University of Namur.

  • Baux, S. (2007). Discours sur l’école et representations du système scolaire à Ouagadougou [Discourse on the school and on the representations of the school system in Ouagadougou]. In F. Compaoré, M. Compaoré, M. F. Lange, & M. Pilon (Eds.), La question educative au Burkina Faso: Regards pluriels (pp. 71–84). Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: IRD, CNRST.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayala-Ariste, L. L. (2009). RGPH 2006. Monographie de la commune urbaine de Ouagadougou (Rapport d’analyse) [2006 Census. Monograph of the urban community of Ouagadougou (Analysis report)]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Ministère de l’économie et des finances.

  • Becker, G. (1991). A treatise on the family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G., & Lewis, H. G. (1973). On the interaction between the quantity and quality of children. Journal of Political Economy, 81, S279–S288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G., & Tomes, N. (1976). Child endowments and the quantity and quality of children. Journal of Political Economy, 84, 143–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsey, M. A. (1976). The epidemiology of infertility: A review with particular reference to sub-Saharan Africa. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 54, 319–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Black, S. E., Devereux, P. J., & Salvanes, K. G. (2005). The more the merrier? The effect of family size and birth order on children’s education. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120, 669–700.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake, J. (1981). Family size and the quality of children. Demography, 18, 421–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blake, J. (1989). Family size and achievement. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, D., Canning, D., & Malaney, P. N. (2000). Population dynamics and economic growth in Asia. Population and Development Review, 26(Suppl), 257–290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, D., Canning, D., & Sevilla, J. (2003). The demographic dividend. A new perspective on the economic consequences of population change. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bongaarts, J. (1980). Does malnutrition affect fecundity? A summary of the evidence. Science, 208, 564–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bougma, M., LeGrand, T. K., & Kobiané, J. F. (2013, August). Educational preferences and fertility behavior in urban Burkina Faso. Paper presented at IUSSP XXVII International Population Conference, Busan, South Korea.

  • Bougma, M., Pasquier-Doumer, L., LeGrand, T. K., & Kobiané, J. F. (Forthcoming). Fécondité et scolarisation à Ouagadougou: Le rôle des réseaux familiaux [Fertility and schooling in Ouagadougou: The role of family networks]. Population.

  • Boursin, F. (2007). Travail et traffic des enfants: Le cas du Burkina Faso [Child labor and the trafficking of children: The case of Burkina Faso]. In F. Compaoré, M. Compaoré, M. F. Lange, & M. Pilon (Eds.), La question educative au Burkina Faso: Regards pluriels (pp. 161–179). Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: IRD, CNRST.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caceres, J. (2004). Impact of family size on investment in child quality: Multiple births as a natural experiment. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Economics, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD.

  • Cameron, A. C., & Trivedi, P. K. (2005). Microeconometrics: Methods and applications. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chernichovsky, D. (1985). Socioeconomic and demographic aspects of school enrollment and attendance in rural Botswana. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 33, 319–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Compaoré, F., Compaoré, M., Lange, M. F., & Pilon, M. (2007). La question educative au Burkina Faso: Regards pluriels [The question of education in Burkina Faso: Diverse views]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: IRD, CNRST.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conley, D., & Glauber, R. (2006). Parental educational investment and children’s academic risk: Estimates of the impact of sibship size and birth order from exogenous variation in fertility. Journal of Human Resources, 41, 722–737.

    Google Scholar 

  • Council, N. R. (2003). Cities transformed: Demographic change and its implications in the developing world. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Council, N. R. (2005). Growing up global: The changing transitions to adulthood in developing countries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dang, H. A., & Rogers, H. (2013). The decision to invest in child quality over quantity: Household size and household investment in education in Vietnam (Policy Research Working Paper No. 6487). Washington, DC: World Bank.

  • Dayioglu, M., Kirdar, M. G., & Tansel, A. (2009). Impact of sibship size, birth order and sex composition on school enrolment in urban Turkey. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 71, 399–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeGraff, D. S., Bilsborrow, R. E., & Herrin, A. N. (1996). Children’s education in the Philippines: Does high fertility matter? Population Research and Policy Review, 15, 219–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desai, S. (1992). Children at risk: The role of family structure in Latin America and West Africa. Population and Development Review, 18, 689–715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dumas, C., & Lefranc, A. (2013). Sex in marriage is a divine gift: For whom? Evidence from the Manila contraceptive ban (IZA Discussion Paper No. 7503). Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

  • Eloundou-Enyegue, P. M., & Shapiro, D. (2005). Confiage d’enfants et nivellement des inégalités scolaires au Cameroun, 1960–1995 [Fostering of children and the leveling of educational inequalities in Cameroon, 1960–1995]. Cahiers Québécois de Démographie, 34, 47–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eloundou-Enyegue, P. M., & Williams, L. B. (2006). Family size and schooling in sub-Saharan African settings: A reexamination. Demography, 43, 25–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gérard, E. (2001). La demande d’éducation en Afrique: Approches sociologiques [Educational demand in Africa: Sociological approaches]. In M. Pilon & Y. Yaro (Eds.), La demande d’éducation en Afrique: État des connaissances et perspectives de recherche (pp. 63–79). Dakar, Senegal: UEPA/UAPS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomes, M. (1984). Family size and educational attainment in Kenya. Population and Development Review, 10, 647–660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, R. (1983). The impact of health and nutrition on natural fertility. In R. A. Bulatao & R. D. Lee (Eds.), Determinants of fertility in developing countries, Vol. 1: Supply and demand for children (pp. 139–162). New York, NY: Academic Press.

  • Handa, S. (2002). Raising primary school enrollment in developing countries: The relative importance of supply and demand. Journal of Development Economics, 63, 103–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanushek, E. A. (1992). The trade-off between child quantity and quality. Journal of Political Economy, 100, 84–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hotz, V. J., McElroy, S., & Sanders, S. G. (2005). Teenage childbearing and its life cycle consequences: Exploiting a very natural experiment. Journal of Human Resources, 40, 683–715.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hotz, V. J., Mullin, C. H., & Sanders, S. G. (1997). Bounding causal effects using data from a contaminated natural experiment: Analyzing the effects of teenage childbearing. Review of Economic Studies, 64, 575–603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurault, J. (1987). Un ouvrage méconnu: Infécondité en Afrique Noire d’Anne Retel-Laurentin [An unknown book: Infertility in Black Africa by Anne Retel-Laurentin]. Cahiers d'études africaines, 27, 177–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • INSD. (2003). Analyse des résultats de l’enquête burkinabè sur les conditions de vie des ménages (Rapport final) [Analysis of the results of the Burkinabe survey on households’ living conditions (Final report)]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Ministère de l’Economie et du Développement.

  • INSD, & Macro International, Inc. (1994). Enquête démographique et de Santé, Burkina Faso 1993 [Demographic and Health Survey, Burkina Faso 1993]. Calverton, MD: Macro International, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • INSD, & Macro International, Inc. (2012). Enquête démographique et de santé et à indicateurs multiples (EDSBF-MICS IV), Burkina Faso 2010 [Demographic and Health and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (DHS-MICS IV), Burkina Faso 2010]. Calverton, MD: Macro International, Inc.

  • Isiugo-Abanihe, U. (1985). Child fosterage in West Africa. Population and Development Review, 11, 53–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, R. (2005). Equal treatment, unequal outcomes? Generating gender inequality through fertility behavior (Working paper). Cambridge, MA: Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

  • Kamano, P. J., Rakotomalala, R., Bernard, J. M., Husson, G., & Reuge, N. (2010). Les défis du système éducatif Burkinabè en appui à la croissance économique [Challenges for Burkina Faso’s educational system in support of economic growth] (Working Document No. 196). Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, E. M. (1987). The effect of family size on family welfare: What do we know? In D. G. Johnson & R. D. Lee (Eds.), Population growth and economic development: Issues and evidence (pp. 373–411). Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knodel, J., Havanon, N., & Sittitrai, W. (1990). Family size and the education of children in the context of rapid fertility decline. Population and Development Review, 16, 31–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knodel, J., & Wongsith, M. (1991). Family size and children’s education in Thailand: Evidence from a national sample. Demography, 28, 119–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kobiané, J. F. (2006). Ménages et scolarisation des enfants au Burkina Faso: À la recherche des déterminants de la demande scolaire [Households and children's schooling in Burkina Faso: In search of the determinants of the demand for schooling]. Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium: Academia-Bruylant.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kobiané, J. F., & Bougma, M. (2009). RGPH 2006. Rapport d’analyse du thème IV: Instruction, alphabétisation et scolarisation [2006 Census. Theme IV analysis report: Education, literacy and schooling]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kravdal, Ø., Kodzi, I., & Sigle-Rushton, W. (2013). Effects of the number and age of siblings on educational transitions in sub-Saharan Africa. Studies in Family Planning, 44, 275–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, S., & Kugler, A. (2011). Testing the children quantity-quality trade-off in India. (MPRA Paper No. 42487). Munich, Germany: Munich Personal RePEc Archive (MPRA).

  • Lange, M. F. (1987). Le refus de l’école: Pouvoir d’une société civile bloquée? [Refusal to enroll one’s children in school: The power of a civil society blocked?]. Politique Africaine, 27, 74–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lange, M. F. (1998). Introduction. In M. F. Lange (Ed.), L’école et les filles en Afrique: Scolarisation sous conditions (pp. 7–26). Paris, France: Éditions Karthala.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lardoux, S. (2010). Le mariage au Mali: Témoignages [Marriage in Mali: Testimonials]. Paris, France: Études africaines, L’Harmattan.

  • Lee, J. (2004). Sibling size and investment in children’s education: An Asian instrument (IZA Discussion Paper No. 1323). Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

  • LeGrand, T., Koppenhaver, T., Mondain, N., & Randall, S. (2003). Reassessing the insurance effect: A qualitative analysis of fertility behavior in Senegal and Zimbabwe. Population and Development Review, 29, 375–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lesthaeghe, R. (1989). Social organisation, economic crises and the future of fertility control. In R. Lesthaeghe (Ed.), Reproduction and social organization in sub-Saharan Africa (pp. 475–497). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, H., Zhang, J., & Zhu, Y. (2008). The quantity-quality trade-off of children in a developing country: Identification using Chinese twins. Demography, 45, 223–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindert, P. H. (1977). Sibling position and achievement. Journal of Human Resources, 12, 198–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, C. B., & Blanc, A. K. (1996). Children’s schooling in sub-Saharan Africa: The role of fathers, mothers, and others. Population and Development Review, 22, 265–298.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, C. B., & Gage-Brandon, A. (1994). High fertility and children’s schooling in Ghana: Sex differences in parental contributions and educational outcomes. Population Studies, 48, 293–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, C. B., & Ivanov, S. (1988). The effects of improved child survival on family planning practice and fertility. Studies in Family Planning, 19, 141–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locoh, T. (2003). Baisse de la fécondité et mutations familiales en Afrique sub-saharienne [Fertility decline and family mutations in sub-Saharan Africa]. In V. Hertrich & S. Keïta (Eds.), Questions de population au Mali (pp. 129–158). Bamako, Mali: UNFPA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locoh, T., & Mouvagha-Sow, M. (2005, June). Vers de nouveaux modèles familiaux en Afrique de l'Ouest? [Toward new family patterns in West Africa?]. Communication présentée au XXVème congrès international de la population. France: Tours.

  • Lutz, W., & Samir, K. C. (2011). Global human capital: Integrating education and population. Science, 333, 587–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lux, A. (1976). Infécondité et politique démographique: Le cas de l’Afrique [Infertility and demographic policy: The case of Africa]. Population, 31, 970–974.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maralani, V. (2008). Family size and educational attainment with socioeconomic development. Demography, 45, 693–717.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcoux, R. (1995). Fréquentation scolaire et structure démographique des ménages en milieu urbain au Mali [School attendance and the demographic structure of urban households in Mali]. Cahiers des Sciences Humaines, 33, 655–674.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, A. (2001). Population and economic growth in East Asia. In A. Mason (Ed.), Population change and economic development in East Asia: Challenges met, opportunities seized (pp. 1–30). Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDaniel, A., & Zulu, E. (1996). Mothers, fathers, and children: Regional patterns in parent-child residence in sub-Saharan Africa. African Population Studies, 11, 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menken, J., Trussell, J., & Watkins, S. (1981). The nutrition-fertility link: An evaluation of the evidence. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 11, 425–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ministère de la Santé (2012). Planification familiale au Burkina Faso: État des lieux et perspectives [Family planning in Burkina Faso: Current situation and prospects]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Ministère de la Santé.

  • Montgomery, M. R., & Hewett, P. C. (2005). Poverty and children’s schooling in urban and rural Senegal (Working Paper No. 196). New York, NY: Population Council.

  • Montgomery, M. R., & Kouame, A. (1993). Fertility and schooling in Côte d’Ivoire: Is there a tradeoff? (Working Paper No. 11). Washington, DC: World Bank.

  • Montgomery, M. R., & Lloyd, C. B. (1999). Excess fertility, unintended births, and children’s schooling. In C. Bledsoe, J. B. Casterline, J. A. Johnson-Kuhn, & J. G. Haaga (Eds.), Critical perspectives on schooling and fertility in the developing world (pp. 216–266). Washington, DC: National Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pageard, R. (1969). Le droit privé des mossi: Tradition et évolution [Private law of the Mossi: Tradition and evolution]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: CNRS-CVRS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilon, M. (2005, July). Confiage et scolarisation en Afrique de l’ouest: Éclairages à partir des sources de données démographiques [Fostering and schooling in West Africa: Insights from sources of demographic data]. Paper presented at IUSSP XXV International Population Conference. France: Tours.

  • Pilon, M. (2007). La scolarisation au primaire à Ouagadougou: Niveaux et disparités [Primary schooling in Ouagadougou: Levels and disparities]. In F. Compaoré, M. Compaoré, M. F. Lange, & M. Pilon (Eds.), La question educative au Burkina Faso: Regards pluriels (pp. 161–179). Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: IRD, CNRST.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilon, M., & Wayack, M. (2003). La démocratisation de l’enseignement au Burkina Faso: Que peut-on en dire aujourd’hui? [Democratization of education in Burkina Faso: What can we say today?]. Cahiers d’Études Africaines, 1, 63–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pison, G. (1989). Les jumeaux en Afrique au sud du Sahara: Fréquence, statut social et immortalité [Twins in sub-Saharan Africa: Frequency, social status and immortality]. In G. Pison, E. Van de Walle, & N. S. Diakanda (Eds.), Mortalité et Société en Afrique (pp. 245–269). Paris, France: INED.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ponczek, V., & Souza, A. P. (2012). New evidence of the causal effect of family size on child quality in a developing country. Journal of Human Resources, 47, 64–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian, N. (2006). Quantity-quality: The positive effect of family size on school enrollment in China. Unpublished manuscript, Brown University, Economics Department, Providence, RI.

  • Qian, N. (2009). Quantity-quality and the one child policy: The only-child disadvantage in school enrollment in rural China (Working Paper No. 14973). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

  • Retel-Laurentin, A. (1980). Causes de l’infécondité dans la Volta Noire [Infertility causes in Black Volta]. Population, 35, 1151–1162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig, M., & Wolpin, K. (1980). Testing the quantity-quality fertility model: The use of twins as a natural experiment. Econometrica, 48, 227–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig, M., & Zhang, J. (2009). Do population control policies induce more human capital investment? Twins, birth weight and China’s “one-child” policy. Economic Studies, 73, 1149–1174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossier, C., Soura, A., Baya, B., Compaore, G., Dabiré, D., Dos Santos, S., & Zourkaleini, Y. (2012). Health and demographic surveillance system profile. Profile: The Ouagadougou Health and Demographic Surveillance System. International Journal of Epidemiology, 41, 658–666.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutstein, S. O., & Shah, I. H. (2004). Infecundity, infertility, and childlessness in developing countries (Comparative Reports No. 9). Calverton, MD: ORC Macro and the World Health Organization.

  • Sanou, F. (2001). Éducation et démocratie [Education and democracy]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: University of Ouagadogou.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sathar, Z. A., & Lloyd, C. B. (1994). Who gets primary schooling in Pakistan: Inequalities among and within families. The Pakistan Development Review, 33, 103–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, T. P. (2007). Population policies, fertility, women’s human capital, and child quality (IZA Discussion Paper No. 2815). Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

  • Schwartz, A. (1974). Notes sur les jumeaux dans la société Guéré traditionnelle [Notes on twins in traditional Guere society]. Paris, France: Archives du Centre ORSTOM.

  • Sippel, L., Kiziak, T., Woellert, F., & Klingholz, R. (2011). Africa’s demographic challenges: How a young population can make development possible. Berlin, Germany: Berlin Institute for Population and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stock, J. H., & Watson, M. W. (2007). Introduction to econometrics (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stock, J. H., & Watson, M. W. (2011). Introduction to econometrics (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tankoano, F. A. (1990). L’expérience de planification familiale du Burkina Faso [The experience of family planning in Burkina Faso]. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: University of Ouagadougou.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiriat, M. P. (1999). Les unions libres en Afrique subsaharienne [Consensual unions in sub-Saharan Africa]. Cahiers Québécois de Démographie, 28, 81–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO. (2012). Rapport mondial de suivi sur l’EPT 2012. Jeunes et compétences: L’éducation au travail [2012 Global monitoring report on EFA. Young people and skills: Education at work]. Paris, France: UNESCO.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (2006). World development report 2007: Development and the next generation. Washington, DC: World Bank.

  • Zenga, W., Undurraga, E. A., Eisenberg, T. A., Rubio-Jovel, K., & Reyes-García, V. (2012). Sibling composition and child educational attainment: Evidence from native Amazonians in Bolivia. Economics of Education Review, 31, 1017–1027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zoungrana, M. C., & Marcoux, R. (1999). Du quotidien et de l’avenir: Les enjeux familiaux de la fréquentation scolaire à Bamako [Of everyday life and of the future: Family issues of school attendance in Bamako]. In UEPA/UAPS (Ed.), La population Africaine au 21e siècle: Actes de la 3e conférence africaine sur la population, Decembre 6–10, 1999 (pp. 537–561). Durban, South Africa: UEPA/UAPS.

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Agence Française de Développement, the Agence Inter-établissements de Recherche Pour le Développement, and the Institut de Recherche Pour le Développement for their financial support of the data collection and analysis. We also thank the Ouagadougou Demtrend and the Ouaga HDSS teams for providing access to the data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moussa Bougma.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 5 Probit model results of school attendance for three groups of children aged 6–16: Biological and nonbiological children residing in the household, biological children residing in the household, and biological children residing in the household or not
Table 6 Probit model results of school attendance for three groups of children aged 6–16, taking into account polygamy

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bougma, M., LeGrand, T.K. & Kobiané, JF. Fertility Decline and Child Schooling in Urban Settings of Burkina Faso. Demography 52, 281–313 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-014-0355-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-014-0355-0

Keywords

Navigation