On the Doorstep of Adulthood: Entrepreneurship and Fertility of Young Women in Tanzania
The paper titled "On the Doorstep of Adulthood: Entrepreneurship and Fertility of Young Women in Tanzania" by Lars Ivar Oppedal Berge, Kjetil Bjorvatn, Fortunata Makene, Linda Helgesson Sekei, Vincent Somville and Bertil Tungodden has been published in The Economic Journal.
Abstract
We report results from a large-scale randomized controlled trial aimed at empowering young women during the transition from secondary school. The trial includes four school-based arms: economic empowerment, reproductive health empowerment, their combination, and a control group. The analysis draws on a rich dataset combining survey and laboratory measures collected over more than five years. The economic program increased self-employment and income, while the reproductive health program strengthened self-control and increased committed relationships. Both interventions also increased early pregnancy, which we attribute to positive income and relationship effects in a context characterized by high fertility and self-employment.