Multivariate analysis of parity progression-based measures of the total fertility rate and its components using individual-level data

Abstract

This paper develops multivariate methods for analyzing (1) effects of socioeconomic variables on the total fertility rate and its components and (2) effects of socioeconomic variables on the trend in the total fertility rate and its components. For the multivariate methods to be applicable, the total fertility rate must be calculated from parity progression ratios (PPRs), pertaining in this paper to transitions from birth to first marriage, first marriage to first birth, first birth to second birth, and so on. The components of the TFR include PPRs, the total marital fertility rate (TMFR), and the TFR itself as measures of the quantum of fertility, and mean and median ages at first marriage and mean and median closed birth intervals by birth order as measures of the tempo or timing of fertility. The multivariate methods are applicable to both period measures and cohort measures of these quantities. The methods are illustrated by application to data from the 1993, 1998, and 2003 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in the Philippines.