Rural Electrification and Fertility - Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire

Jörg Peters (1) , Colin Vance (1)

1 RWI

Using household-level survey data from Côte d'Ivoire, this paper investigates the determinants of fertility with a particular focus on the effect of electrification. Based on a Poisson regression model, our analysis suggests a highly significant relationship between fertility and electricity, but one that is only revealed when the model distinguishes between rural and urban areas. Specifically, we find a positive association between electricity and fertility for urban households, contrasted by a negative relationship for rural households. This dichotomy is suggested to reflect the influences of electricity in facilitating child care, offset by its modernizing impacts through the provision of information.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Jörg Peters, Colin Vance. Rural Electrification and Fertility - Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire. The Journal of Development Studies, 2011, 47 (05), pp.753-766. ⟨10.1080/00220388.2010.527954⟩. ⟨hal-00709552⟩