A Teenager in Love: Multidimensional Human Capital and Teenage Pregnancy in Ghana

38 Pages Posted: 10 Apr 2017

See all articles by Niels-Hugo Blunch

Niels-Hugo Blunch

Washington and Lee University; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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 program 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 program participation is associated with a much lower probability of experiencing a teenage pregnancy.

Keywords: teenage pregnancy, human capital, literacy, adult literacy programs, Ghana

JEL Classification: I21, J24

Suggested Citation

Blunch, Niels-Hugo, A Teenager in Love: Multidimensional Human Capital and Teenage Pregnancy in Ghana. IZA Discussion Paper No. 10663, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2949099 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2949099

Niels-Hugo Blunch (Contact Author)

Washington and Lee University ( email )

Department of Economics
Lexington, VA 24450
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.wlu.edu/williams-school/economics/faculty-and-staff/profile?ID=x258

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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