Women's Work Opportunities, Choice of Job Type, Earnings and Fertility in Ghana: Evidence from 2005/06

T. Paul Schultz, Yale University

Fertility decline may respond to the increasing productive opportunities available to women outside of their home, though self employment may be less of a deterrent to fertility than paid employment. The daily earnings women receive in paid employment or in self employment are related to women’s time allocation and fertility in Ghana as of 2005/06. The demand for female labor at home is greater when local crops rely more on female labor. The demand for female labor in paid employment is greater when the composition of local industries employ a greater share of women. Schooling and urban residence are associated positively to women’s earnings, especially in paid employment, which accounts for regional differences in fertility, and offers an explanation for the secular decline in fertility in Ghana from 6 to 4 births. Structural differences between female employment in paid work, self employment, and home production connect Ghanian development to fertility.