Age at Marriage and Total Fertility in Nepal

In societies where child bearing prior to marriage is not socially acceptable, postponement of marriage contributes significantly towards a reduction in the level of fertility by shortening the total reproductive span of women. This in turn reduces the number of children a woman is likely to have and has a negative impact on the population growth rate of a country. This paper examines the effect of socioeconomic characteristics on the age at marriage and on total fertility rates in Nepal using a household level data set. The estimation results show that an increase in the age at marriage significantly reduces total fertility of women. An increase in the number of children that have died has a statistically significant effect on total fertility (the child replacement effect). The estimation results also emphasize the role of female education in reducing total fertility and increasing the age at marriage. Moreover there is a threshold level of education that must be attained before education starts affecting these two variables.