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  • Title: The relationship between sex-union type and fertility in Costa Rica: an analysis of census data.
    Author: Trovato F, Taylor HW.
    Journal: Int J Sociol Fam; 1980; 10(2):199-212. PubMed ID: 12264567.
    Abstract:
    The study objective was to provide an exploratory analysis of sex-union type and fertility in Costa Rica. 3 hypotheses were introduced on the basis of previous work in the Caribbean Islands--the instability hypothesis, the insecurity hypothesis, and characteristics hypothesis. An attempt was made to answer the question of what the independent effect of consensual union on fertility would be in Costa Rica. The data were taken from the 1973 Costa Rican census sample tapes. The total sample size used was 20,150, which represents a 1 in 80 subsample of the original file. The unit of analysis was women 15 years of age and older classified by type of sex-union. Consensual unions had higher fertility (except at ages 45+), but it was largely due to the fact that they had lower levels on socioeconomic variables in comparison to legal unions. When controls for socioeconomic characteristics were introduced, consensual unions had lower fertility (except at ages 15-24). The most significant finding was that net of socioeconomic variables, consensual unions tended to depress fertility below the more stable legal unions. The underlying mechanism for this effect was stated within the framework of the instability hypothesis, i.e., consensual unions, by virtue of their instability, lead to considerable time lost, which in turn translates into lower levels of fertility in relation to marriage unions. The fact that the independent influence of consensual union on fertility increases in strength with age adds additional credence to the instability hypothesis. As women age, the likelihood of having experienced several union break-ups increases, with the resultant effect of lowering fertility compared with the more stable legal unions. The finding with respect to women in consenual unions aged 15-24 requires further clarification.
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