Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T05:22:48.171Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

DETERMINANTS OF PREGNANCY AND INDUCED AND SPONTANEOUS ABORTION IN A JOINTLY DETERMINED FRAMEWORK: EVIDENCE FROM A COUNTRY-WIDE, DISTRICT-LEVEL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY IN INDIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2013

SALMA AHMED  and
RANJAN RAY
SALMA AHMED*
Affiliation:
Alfred Deakin Research Institute, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
RANJAN RAY
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
*
1Corresponding author. Email: salma.ahmed@deakin.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This study provides evidence on the principal determinants of pregnancy and abortion in India using a large country-wide district-level data set (DLHS 2007). The paper provides an economic framework for the analysis of pregnancy and abortion. The study distinguishes between induced and spontaneous abortion and compares the effects of their determinants. The results show that there are wide differences between induced and spontaneous abortions in terms of the sign and magnitude of the estimated effects of several of their determinants, most notably wealth, the woman's age and her desire for children. The study makes a methodological contribution by proposing a trivariate probit estimation framework that recognizes the joint dependence of pregnancy and induced and spontaneous abortion, and provides evidence in support of this joint dependence. The study reports an inverted U-shaped effect of a woman's age on her pregnancy and both forms of abortion. The turning point in each case is quite robust to the estimation framework. A significant effect of contextual variables, at the village level, constructed from the individual responses, on a woman's pregnancy is found. The effects are weaker in the case of induced abortion, and insignificant in the case of spontaneous abortion. The results are shown to be fairly robust. This paper extends the literature on the relation between son preference and fertility by examining the link between mother's son preference and desire for more children with abortion rates.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , July 2014 , pp. 480 - 517
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agadjanian, V. & Qian, Z. (1997) Ethnocultural identity and induced abortion in Kazakstan. Studies in Family Planning 28(4), 317–329.Google Scholar
Ahiadeke, C. (2001) Incidence of induced abortion in southern Ghana. International Family Planning Perspectives 27(2), 96–108.Google Scholar
Ahmed, M. K., Rahman, M. & van Ginneken, J. (1998) Induced abortions in Matlab, Bangladesh: trends and determinants. International Family Planning Perspectives 24(3), 128–132.Google Scholar
Babu, N. P., Nidhi, & Verma, R. K. (1998) Abortion in India: what does the National Family Health Survey tell us? Journal of Family Welfare 44(4), 45–54.Google Scholar
Bairagi, R. (2001) Effects of sex preference on contraceptive use, abortion and fertility in Matlab, Bangladesh. International Family Planning Perspectives 27(3), 137–143.Google Scholar
Basu, K. (2006) Gender and Say: a model of household behaviour with endogenously determined balance of power. Economic Journal 116(511), 558–580.Google Scholar
Basu, K. & Van, P. H. (1998) The economics of child labor. American Economic Review 88(3), 412–427.Google Scholar
Becker, G. (1960) An economic analysis of fertility. In Universities – National Bureau Committee for Economic Research (eds) Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries. Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp. 209–231.Google Scholar
Bose, S. & Trent, K. (2006) Socio-demographic determinants of abortion in India: a north–south comparison. Journal of Biosocial Science 38(2), 261–282.Google Scholar
Bourguignon, F. & Chiappori, P. A. (1994) The collective approach to household behaviour. In Blundell, R., Preston, I. & Walker, I. (eds) The Measurement of Welfare. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 70–85.Google Scholar
Brown, R. W., Jewell, R. T. & Rous, J. J. (2001) Provider availability, race, and abortion demand. Southern Economic Journal 67(3), 656–671.Google Scholar
Browning, M. (1992) Children and household economic behaviour. Journal of Economic Literature 30(3), 1434–1475.Google Scholar
Calvès, A-E. (2002) Abortion risk and decision-making among young people in urban Cameroon. Studies in Family Planning 33(3), 249–260.Google Scholar
Das Gupta, M. (2005) Explaining Asia's ‘Missing Women': a new look at the data. Population and Development Review 31(3), 529–535.Google Scholar
Dasgupta, P. (1995) An Enquiry into Well-Being and Destitution. Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
DLHS (2007) District Level Household Survey-3: Interviewer's Manual. International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai.Google Scholar
Easterlin, R. A. (1975) An economic framework for fertility analysis. Studies in Family Planning 6(3), 54–63.Google Scholar
Elul, B. (2011) Determinants of induced abortion: an analysis of individual, household and contextual factors in Rajasthan, India. Journal of Biosocial Science 43(1), 1–17.Google Scholar
Hussain, R. (1998) The role of consanguinity and inbreeding as a determinant of spontaneous abortion in Karachi, Pakistan. Annals of Human Genetics 62(2), 147–157.Google Scholar
Johri, M., Morales, R. E., Boivin, J-F., Samayoa, B. E., Hoch, J. S., Grazioso, C. F.et al. (2011) Increased risk of miscarriage among women experiencing physical or sexual intimate partner violence during pregnancy in Guatemala City, Guatemala: cross-sectional study. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 11(1), 49–60.Google Scholar
Koenig, M. A., Jamil, K., Streatfield, P. K., Saha, T., Al-Sabir, A., Arifeen, S. E.et al. (2007) Maternal health and care-seeking behavior in Bangladesh: findings from a national survey. International Family Planning Perspectives 33(2), 75–82.Google Scholar
Kynch, J. & Sen, A. (1983) Indian women: well-being and survival. Cambridge Journal of Economics 7(3–4), 363–380.Google Scholar
Leibenstein, H. (1974) An interpretation of the economic theory of fertility: promising path or blind alley? Journal of Economic Literature 12(2), 457–479.Google Scholar
Levine, P. B. (2004) Sex and Consequences: Abortion, Public Policy and the Economics of Fertility. Princeton University Press, Princeton.Google Scholar
Norsker, F. N., Espenhain, L., á Rogvi, S., Morgen, C. S., Andersen, P. K. & Nybo Andersen, A-M. (2012) Socioeconomic position and the risk of spontaneous abortion: a study within the Danish National Birth Cohort. British Medical Journal Open 2(3), 1–6.Google Scholar
Pande, R. P. & Astone, N. M. (2007) Explaining son preference in rural India: the independent role of structural versus individual factors. Population Research and Policy Review 26(1), 1–29.Google Scholar
Parazzini, F., Chatenoud, L., Tozzi, L., Benzi, G., Pino, D. D. & Fedele, L. (1997) Determinants of risk of spontaneous abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy. Epidemiology 8(6), 681–683.Google Scholar
Ping, T. & Smith, H. L. (1995) Determinants of induced abortion and their policy implications in four countries in North China. Studies in Family Planning 26(5), 278–286.Google Scholar
Potdar, R. (2002) Sex preference and its impact on the pace of childbearing: a comparative analysis of fourteen Indian states. PhD thesis, Cornell University.Google Scholar
Potdar, R. (2005) Female education and the intensification effect of son preference on regional fertility in India. Journal of Population 11(1).Google Scholar
Potdar, R. & Gurak, D. (2003) An examination of the intensification effect of son preference on recent trends in regional fertility in India. Journal of Population 9(2, Part 3).Google Scholar
Ray, R. (1983) Measuring the costs of children: an alternative approach. Journal of Public Economics 22(1), 89–102.Google Scholar
Razzaque, A., Ahmed, K., Alam, N. & van Genneken, J. (2002) Desire for children and subsequent abortions in Matlab, Bangladesh. Journal of Health and Population Nutrition 20(4), 317–325.Google Scholar
Saha, K. B. & Chatterjee, U. (1998) Reproductive rights in contraceptive practices. Health for the Millions 24, 31–32.Google Scholar