Tessa - Link Between Fertility and Economic Growth

Link Between Fertility Rate and Economic Growth

By Tessa Enzy Tookes

(http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/blog/image.axd?picture=2012%2F11%2Fsurrogacyindia.jpg)

Here is a graph showing fertility and GDP per capita for all countries (2011):

(www.bit.ly/PF1BcO)

This graph shows that countries with higher GDPs have lower rates of fertility. The blue countries represent sub-saharan Africa, which is made of of nations with both the highest fertility rate and the lowest GDP. The trend continues on the other side of the spectrum, the graph shows that countries with relatively high GDPs have lower fertility rates. I believe this has to do with the opportunities and resources that come with having a stable economy. Higher GDPs open the doors to a better education and adequate healthcare, two factors that would definitely have an effect on a country's fertility rate.

We cannot, however, say that there is causation between the two variables because of a possible compounding variable such as the rate of literacy in each country. 

Because reading is such a crucial part of society in any nation, the rate of literacy will definitely have an impact on fertility. When a country's citizens are literate, they are able to learn about ways to prevent pregnancy and practice various methods of contraception.

This graph shows fertility rate and literacy rate of adults in all countries (% of people ages 15+) in 2011: 

(www.bit.ly/Yneb1q)

Here we see that country's with higher rates of literacy have lower fertility rates. Citizens who cannot read are less knowledgable about research pertaining to contraception and family planning and do not have the literary abilities to educate themselves. In addition, when a person is literate he/she has so many more opportunities to have a well-paying job and women do not have time to stay at home and raise children. 

(http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/2009/9/1c1cc811-1176-404f-96fb-fc3f07a6806cHiRes.JPG)

This graph shows GDP per capita (US $) and literacy rate of adults in all countries (% of people ages 15+) in 2011: 

(www.bit.ly/10YzvdW)

This graph shows a similar trend to that of the rate of literacy and fertility. In general, the highest literacy rates are found in countries with higher GDPs. There are a few exceptions, however, and this further proves the idea that these relationships are correlational. Literacy has a large impact on GDP because the ability to read helps citizens find jobs and earn annual incomes. 

There is a strong relationship between GDP and fertility in countries all over the world. Given confounding variables such as literacy, we are unable to find causation among this data. Zimbabwe, for instance, has a 90.7% literacy rate, which is astoundingly high given the country's low GDP. Some data collected is unexplainable and does not go along with the hypothesis of both economists and political scientists. Our only hope is that there is a symbiotic balance between these three variables and that countries in the world continue to develop into strong, stable nations. 

(http://www.indexmundi.com/zimbabwe/literacy.html)