Student, Spouse, Parent? A Worldwide Test of the Role Incompatibility Hypothesis among Adolescents and Young Adults

Timothy L. M. Riffe, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED)
Albert Esteve, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED)
Jeroen J. A. Spijker, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED)
Joan Garcia Roman, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED)

In this paper we examine the role-compatibility hypothesis behind the effects of education on marriage and childbearing worldwide. Data come from 50+ IPUMS census microdata samples and 70+ DHS samples from around the year 2000. We use information on current school attendance and whether or not an individual is in union or has had a child, concentrating on the ages 12-24. We predict 1) that the strength of education postponement effects on entry into union and childbearing is greater in countries with early marriage regimes, and 2) that between country variance in education effects decreases with age and is greater for females than for males.