Kin and Fertility in Indonesia: Do Different Measures of Kin Availability Affect the Results?

Evidence suggests that kin presence may be correlated with fertility, but variation in how kin ‘presence’ is measured makes firm conclusions hard to draw. Using data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey, we investigate how the measure of kin availability influences the effect of kin on fertility using three measures of kin ‘presence’: survivorship, co-residence, and proximity of a woman’s parents and parents-in-law. We find that co-residence with parents-in-law results in higher fertility, while living with parents does not, but that living in close proximity to parents increases fertility, while living near in-laws does not. The results may suggest that maternal and paternal kin influence fertility through different mechanisms. Paternal kin may increase the fertility of daughters-in-law by reducing their autonomy in the household, while maternal kin may help daughters who live nearby, allowing them to attain higher fertility than would be possible without help.