A Teenager in Love: Multidimensional Human Capital and Teenage Pregnancy in Ghana. Issue 3 (4th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Blunch, Niels-Hugo
• Is Part Of: Journal of development studies. Volume 54:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 557
• Page End: 573
• Publication Date: 2018-03-04
• Subjects: Economic development -- Periodicals; Economic history -- 1945- -- Periodicals; Developing countries -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; Développement économique -- Périodiques; Histoire économique -- 1945- -- Périodiques; Pays en voie de développement -- Conditions économiques -- Périodiques; 338.91
• DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2017.1308486
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-0388

Abstract

Abstract: I examine teenage pregnancy in Ghana, focusing on the role and interplay of Ghanaian and English reading skills, formal educational attainment, and adult literacy programme participation. Pursuing several alternative identification strategies three main results are established. First, I confirm the finding from previous studies that educational attainment is negatively related to teenage pregnancy. Second, however, once Ghanaian and English reading skills are introduced, the association between educational attainment and teenage pregnancy decreases or disappears altogether. Third, for the girls who have not completed primary school, adult literacy programme participation is associated with a much lower probability of experiencing a teenage pregnancy. A bright future is the best contraceptive. –Marian Wright Edelman