The Timing of Childbearing Differentials by Educational Level among ever Married Women in South Korea

Jinwoo Lee, University of Texas at Austin
Hyeyoung Woo, University of Texas at Austin
Yujin Kim, University of Texas at Austin

A large body of literature suggested that higher education is associated with fewer numbers of children in the US, however, it is not known if the relationship would also be the case in South Korea. Using data from 2003 National Survey of Fertility and Family Health (NSFFH), we develop and test several hypotheses concerning primary educational effect and the general interactions between education and age in shaping the risk of giving birth over the survey period (2001 – 2003). The findings show that there are time-varying effects of education on the event of birth: The more educated tend to marry later, and give birth right away, but end up with less number of births than those with less education. Whereas, the less educated tend to marry earlier, and do not rush to give a birth, but result in more number of childbirth than their counterparts.