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Access to natural resources and the fertility decision of women: the case of South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2001

Rimjhim Aggarwal ,
Sinaia Netanyahu  and
Claudia Romano
Rimjhim Aggarwal
Affiliation:
2200 Symons Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
Sinaia Netanyahu
Affiliation:
Institute for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Claudia Romano
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland
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Abstract

Previous studies have examined the impact of an exogenous increase in population on the local resource base. In some recent theoretical work it has been proposed that resource scarcity, in turn, may affect fertility, and hence population growth rates. However, the sign and magnitude of this effect remains an open empirical question. In this paper we examine the impact of fuelwood and water scarcity on fertility rates using household data from rural South Africa. An individual choice model of fertility is estimated in which resource scarcity affects the demand for children through its effect on child mortality and productivity of children as resource collectors. Several alternative measures of resource scarcity are used, such as average distance traveled and time per trip for collecting water and fuelwood. We find wood scarcity to have a positive and significant effect on fertility. The effect of water scarcity is also positive, but not significant in general.

Type
Policy Options
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , May 2001 , pp. 209 - 236
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

The authors would like to thank Leslie Whittington for discussions in the initial stage of the project and Jinkyo Suh for help in running the Gauss program for tobit fixed effects model. Ramon Lopez, Marc Nerlove and four anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments. All errors remain the authors’ responsibility.