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Chi Chiao, MSc, MPH, Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA School of Public Health, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, 310-794-9889, chichiao@msn.com
Job opportunity for a woman has demonstrated one of major causes contributing to fertility decline in the developing countries. To understand the effects of female employment status on women's birth expectations in the Philippines within a sequential decision-making framework, this paper addresses two main questions relating to birth expectation:
1) What is the relation between individual socio-demographic factors (e.g. age, education, etc.) and female employment status?
2) How much does women's employment status contribute to their birth expectations, adjusting for other individual socio-demographic characteristics?
Using data from the 1998 National Demographic Survey of the Philippines, 12806 fecund women aged 15-49 years are included into the analyses. Employment status and birth expectations are categorized into 3 levels: non-employment/employment at home/employment away from home and expected/ undecided/non-expected, respectively. Multinomial logit models are used to examine individual socio-demographic characteristics associated with women's employment status and birth expectation.
The results show that current family size is a significant determinant of subsequent decisions regarding female labor force participation and, to an even greater extent, fertility expectation, whereas employment status is partially significantly associated with birth expectation. Relative to the unemployed, working women intend not to have an additional child rather than hesitate.
In sum, the results underscore the importance of examining the individual socio-demographic correlates of women's employment status and birth expectations, particularly for those who are hesitant about bearing an additional child. Implications of the findings for analyzing further studies in women labor force participation, their desired fertility, and potential population policy are discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Population, Policy/Policy Development
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.