Stop! Go! What can we learn about family planning from birth timing in settler South Africa, 1800-1910?

Jeanne Cilliers and Martine Mariotti

No 5, CEH Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic History, Research School of Economics, Australian National University

Abstract: We revisit the discussion on family limitation through stopping and spacing behavior both prior to and during the fertility transition. Using the birth histories of 13519 settler women in nineteenth century South Africa we find no evidence of parity specific spacing prior to the transition. In addition we _find no differences in spacing behavior based on differences in time invariant economic and social characteristics. On commencement of the fertility transition, we see increasing parity dependent spacing as well as variation in spacing based on differences in economic and social characteristics. We see little change in stopping behavior over time. The transition appears to be driven by delayed marriage and wider birth intervals.

Keywords: Settler South Africa; fertility limitation; cure models; parity dependent spacing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 N37 N97 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:auu:hpaper:077

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