Adolescent fertility and its determinants in Kenya: Evidence from Kenya demographic and health survey 2014

Background Adolescent fertility in Kenya is vital in the development and execution of reproductive health policies and programs. One of the specific objectives of the Kenyan Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) policy developed in 2015 is to decrease early and unintended pregnancies in an attempt to reduce adolescent fertility. We aimed to establish determinants of adolescent fertility in Kenya. Methods The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2014 data set was utilized. Adolescent’s number of children ever born was the dependent variable. The Chi-square test was utilized to determine the relationship between dependent and independent variables. A Proportional-odds model was performed to establish determinants of adolescent fertility at a 5% significance level. Results Over 40% of the adolescent girls who had sex below 17 years had given birth i.e, current age 15–17 years (40.9%) and <15 years (44.9%) had given birth. In addition, 70.7% of the married adolescents had given birth compared to 8.1% of the unmarried adolescents. Moreover, 65.1% of the adolescents who were using contraceptives had given birth compared to only 9% of the adolescents who were not using a contraceptive. Approximately 29.4% of the adolescents who had no education had given birth compared to 9.1% who had attained secondary education. Age at first sex (18–19 years: OR: 0.221, 95% CI: 0.124–0.392; 15–17 years: OR: 0.530, 95% CI: 0.379–0.742), current age (18–19 years: OR: 4.727, 95% CI: 3.318–6.733), current marital status (Not married: OR:0.212, 95% CI: 0.150–4.780), and current contraceptive use (Using: OR 3.138, 95% CI: 2.257–4.362) were associated with adolescent fertility. Conclusion The study established that age at first sex, current age, marital status, and contraceptive use are the main determinants of adolescent childbearing. The stated determinants should be targeted by the government to control the adolescent birth rate in Kenya. Consequently, delaying the age at first sex, discouraging adolescent marriage, and increasing secondary school enrollment among adolescent girls are recommended strategies to control adolescent fertility in Kenya.

Impact of Remittance in Women Education: An Empirical Study

This study aims at exploring the impact of remittance on women's education while employing descriptive cum cross sectional research design. For this purpose, conveniently Raghuganga Rural Municipality, Ward no. 3, (Mauwaphant area), Myagdi District of Gandaki Province and to well represent the universe, 19 households were randomly selected receiving the remittance. Fieldwork method including in-depth interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, focus group discussion, key informants interview, and case study were the basic tools used in this study for obtaining the primary data which were then analyzed by using simple statistical tools such as tabulation, classification, frequency and percentage. The study argues that remittance raises school enrollment, school completion rate, and private school enrolment and thus improving the educational status of women in general and girls in particular in comparison to the past and have brought the qualitative change in children’s educational status. It concludes that remittance can lift budget constraints, thereby providing children in remittance-receiving households the opportunity to go to school and finally directly benefits the households. Wrapping up, this type of study is pertinent as it would attract public attention in terms of policy that could lead to extensive positive policy initiatives for more detailed discussions and their productive usages for crucial policy concern in Nepal.

The Impact of Short-Term Employment for Low-Income Youth: Experimental Evidence from the Philippines

We use a randomized field experiment to test the causal impact of short-term work experience on employment and school enrollment among disadvantaged, in-school youth in the Philippines. This experience leads to a 4.4 percentage point (79-percent) increase in employment 8 to 12 months later. While we find noaggregate increase in enrollment, we also do not find that the employment gains push youth out of school. Our results are most consistent with work experience serving as a signal of unobservable applicant quality, and these findings highlight the role of temporary work as a stepping-stone to employment for low-income youth.

Understanding Wealth Inequalities in Education Access in Urbanizing Sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction: Urbanization is a double-edged sword, while it is transforming the world, it is also creating spaces that pose threats to its benefits. In sub-Saharan Africa, urbanization is occurring amidst slowed economic growth and into spaces that are already strained. This is resulting in the growth of urban poverty and possibly increasing inequalities. It is thus imperative to understand the effects of urbanization in realizing inclusive and equitable education for all.Objective: We examine inequalities in enrolment of schooling going children aged 6–17 years living in urban areas using the latest Demographic and Health Surveys data from 24 SSA countries.Methods: We utilize three measures of inequality: Rate difference, rate ratio, and relative concentration index to examine inequalities in education access. Using wealth status as the key inequality indicator, we compute and compare school enrollment of children living in urban poor households with that of those living in urban rich households for each measure of inequality. Where appropriate, we stratify the results by country, age, and gender.Results: The results show high levels of inequalities in education access in urban settings. Across all the measures of inequality, in most countries, children from urban poor households were significantly less likely to be in school compared to those from the richest ranked households. The degree of inequality varied considerably between countries and the age groups. Among children aged 6–11 years, Tanzania, Burundi, Nigeria, and Uganda had the highest degree of inequality favouring the urban rich. We also find intriguing results in few countries such as Ethiopia, Benin, Senegal and Mali, which the urban poor had, better school enrolments than the urban rich. We do not find a clear pattern to suggest girls from poor households are overly disadvantaged than boys from similar households.Conclusion: Our study shows a high level of inequalities in education access in an urban setting, with children age in urban poor settings hugely disadvantaged. There is a need for strategic efforts in terms of deliberate interventions and policy frameworks to combat the apparent inequalities that disadvantage children from poor families from accessing education.

Interactions between Conditional Cash Transfers and Preferred Secondary Schools in Jamaica

We explore whether the academic benefit from attending a preferred secondary school differs between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the Jamaican Conditional Cash Transfer Program, Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH). The academic outcomes assessed include end of secondary and post-secondary high-stakes examinations independently administered by the Caribbean Examinations Council. Among girls, receiving PATH benefits before secondary school enrollment does not influence the academic gains from attending a more selective school. However, boys who received PATH benefits prior to secondary school enrollment benefit significantly less from subsequently attending a more selective school with respect to comparable peers who did not receive PATH benefits. These results suggest negative dynamic interactions between PATH and selective secondary schools among boys.

Effect of timing of school enrollment on physical fitness in third graders

Timing of school enrollment may vary considerably due to children who were enrolled early / delayed or skipped / repeated a school year. Accordingly, the age range within school grades includes older-than-keyage (OTK) and younger-than-keyage (YTK) children. Studies examining academic performance of OTK and YTK children versus keyage children reported large differences in academic performance. However, there are no studies available that examined physical fitness of OTK and YTK versus keyage children. The aim of this study was to compare physical fitness of OTK (N = 25,086) and YTK (N = 1,885) children versus keyage children (N = 108,295) in a sample of German third graders. Physical fitness tests comprised cardiorespiratory endurance, coordination, speed, lower, and upper limbs muscle power. Predictions of physical fitness performance for YTK and OTK children were estimated using data from keyage children by taking age, sex, school, and cohort into account. The difference between observed and predicted z-scores yielded a delta z-score that was used as a dependent variable in the linear mixed models. Findings indicate that OTK children showed impaired performance compared to keyage children, especially in coordination, and that YTK children outperformed keyage children, especially in coordination. Teachers should be aware that despite their age advantage, OTK children often show impaired fitness compared to keyage children.

HUMAN CAPITAL AND INCOME INEQUALITY LINKAGE IN SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA: PANEL DATA ANALYSIS (1984–2016)

Income inequality means that one segment of the population has a disproportionately large share of income compared to the other. Disparities in income and wealth have tended to dominate the discussion on inequality because they contribute directly to individuals and families’ well-being and shape the opportunities people have in life. Therefore, addressing income inequality is essential to inspire each country’s population’s human and productive potentials to bring development. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between income inequality and human capital using static panel data analysis. Specifically, the study employs fixed effect panel data analysis using Least Square Dummy Variable for 25 sub-Saharan African countries. The World Bank data series was widely used as the data source for macroeconomic variables, while the Gini index has obtained from the Standardized World Income Inequality Database. The empirical results reveal that human capital in terms of secondary school enrollment rate has a negative impact on income inequality. The study also found a U-shaped relationship between real gross domestic product per capita and inequality, and it does not support the well-known concept of the Kuznets curve.Keywords: Income Inequality; Human Capital; Panel Data; Random Effect; Fixed Effect.JEL: C10, Q0, A10

Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Early Impacts from a Multi-Site Random Assignment Evaluation

Background PROMISE was a federal initiative to support youth receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) during the transition to adulthood. Objectives This article presents estimates of the impacts of the six PROMISE projects on youth and family outcomes as of 18 months after enrolling in PROMISE. Research Design The study uses a randomized controlled trial design. Subjects The six PROMISE projects each enrolled a minimum of 2000 treatment and control youth (and their parents) residing in their service areas who were aged 14 to 16 and receiving SSI. Measures We estimated impacts on outcomes related to youth and family service use, school enrollment, training, employment, earnings, and federal disability program participation using survey and administrative data. Results The projects succeeded in connecting more youth to transition services and more families to support services during the 18 months after enrollment, and most increased the likelihood that youth applied for state vocational rehabilitation services. On average, there was no impact on youth’s school enrollment, but there were favorable impacts on youth’s receipt of job-related training, employment, earnings, and total income. The projects did not affect parents’ employment, earnings, or income, on average. For most outcomes PROMISE affected, the impacts varied substantially across the projects. Conclusions The positive short-term impacts of PROMISE on youth’s use of transition services, youth employment, and families’ use of services are consistent with the program logic model and suggest there might be potential for longer-term favorable impacts on youth and family outcomes.

Content validation of observer-reported sickle cell pain diaries (SCPD-CS and SCPD-CN): results from interviews with caregivers

Background Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) experience daily pain and acute episodes known as sickle cell pain crises (SCPCs). The Sickle Cell Pain Diary-Caregiver Report (SCPD-C) is an observer-reported diary for use by caregivers of children ages < 12 years with SCD. This study reports on the content validity of the SCPD-C. Methods The SCPD-C was developed based on a literature review, measurement expert input, and a patient advisory board including clinicians. Three rounds of interviews (including both concept elicitation and cognitive debriefing methodologies) were conducted with caregivers of children with SCD aged < 12 to evaluate the content validity of the SCPD-C. Results Across three rounds of interviews, caregivers confirmed concepts in the SCPD-C and described observed impacts that were important and were added. Overall, caregivers evaluated the SCPD-C as easy to understand, with some minor adaptations for clarity. Additionally, the diary was split into two versions based on the child’s age and school enrollment status (SCPD-CS for school-aged and SCPD-CN for non-school age children). Conclusions Caregivers provided valuable input that led to important additions and changes to the measures. The SCPD-CS and SCPD-CN are appropriate and fit-for-purpose observer-reported outcome measures of SCPC-related pain frequency and severity, and impacts on health-related quality of life.