Gender Equity and Its Effect on Transition to Lower-Order Births in Moldova

Igor Ryabov, University of Texas at El Paso

The aim of this paper is to empirically assess the impact of gender equity on the timing of low-order births in the Republic of Moldova. The empirical analysis uses data from the 2005 Moldova Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS). Hazard modeling has been applied to study the transition to first and second birth. Considered for the first time are gender equity measures, indicators that are essential in evaluating premises of the second demographic transition theory. A main focus of the analysis is to study whether the effects of gender equity have changed across successive female cohorts and its implications for the timing of first and second births. We also address the relative importance of the effects of gender equity, education and wealth, and discuss the merit of using gender equity instead of education when modeling the timing of first and second births.