Economic Dependency and Opportunity Cost of Childbearing: Implications for fertility control in sub-Sahara Africa

Abstract The dynamics in the household income within the marital unions especially with the emergence of female breadwinners in the last decade is gradually changing the demand for children and the need for child spacing. It is in line with this that this study examines the impact of changing spousal roles on the cost of bearing children in three sub-Saharan African countries. Demographic and Health Surveys data were analyzed using three levels of statistical analysis, while at multivariate level, five models were constructed to test the formulated hypotheses. The study identified significant relationship between economic dependency and the control variables (use of modern contraceptives and fertility timing) in the three countries (Pvalue < .0001). The study also affirmed a positive significant relationship between economic dependency and labour force participation of women except in Lesotho (Pvalue < .0001). In addition, higher significant differential was ascertained between labour force participation and fertility in the study area. The three countries also indicate high significant correlation of the effect of women economic dependency on fertility. The study concludes that empowering women and allowing them to involve in paid activities will not only reduce fertility but significantly contribute to poverty reduction in Africa.