The impact of schooling on teenage fertility, age at marriage and contraception use: Evidence from compulsory education in Peru

This paper uses Peru DHS from 2008-2010 and birth cohorts (1970-1988) to estimate the effect of female education on teen fertility. It also estimates the role of education on two intermediate variables: age at marriage and current use of contraception. The analysis exploits an exogenous change in education produced by increased length of compulsory education in Peru from 6 to 11 years in 1994

The results show that a change in compulsory education is positively associated with formal schooling attained. The instrumental variable (IV) estimates show a statistically significant effect on reducing the probability of having a first birth between 18 and 19 years, which is post-compulsory education age, but not between 15 and 17 years. Results also indicate that better educated women are less likely to marry before 20 years of age and significantly more likely to use contraception. The IV estimates are larger than the (OLS) on the three outcomes studied suggesting the possibility of heterogeneous effects of the educational reform and measurement error on schooling. Results are relevant for policymakers aiming to reduce teenage fertility and increase educational attainment.