Browsing by Author "Consebido, Aileen B."

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    I decide: evidence of autonomy and childbearing in the Philippines
    (2001-03) Consebido, Aileen B.; Rudio, Christopher C.; Solon, Orville
    When is the wife effective in bargaining with her husband on childbearing decisions? Drawing on household bargaining theory, we treat the childbearing decision as a negotiated outcome, with spouses' relative bargaining power a function of power variables such as age, education and employments status. Inclusion of household income and stratum enables further analysis of community level effects on the relative influence that the wife possesses on childbearing decisions. Working on the hypothesis that the empowerment of women leads them to want and have fewer children, this study examines women's autonomy in other spheres (economic and freedom of movement) with the expectation that these empowerment measures will carry over on childbearing. The results show that wives who are educated and working for household income have greater say on the childbearing decision and that wives with older husbands have less power to decide. Analysis of the community level variables revealed that household income increases the power possessed by the wife but at a diminishing rate. Unexpected results were obtained from the urban versus rural contexts and Muslim versus non-Muslim contexts. Also, the wife's role in the decision of the method used in family planning signals the wife's intent to have fewer children and can thus be considered as the dominant figure in childbearing decisions. In performing this study, we aim to identify the relevant variables that should be targeted by government policies in order for it to be effective. This study reasserts the importance of effecting policies that provides employment opportunities and greater education access for women.