Men’s Influence on Realization of Women’s Fertility Preference in Ghana

Isaac Yeboah
Faustina Frempong-Ainguah, Regional Institute for Population Studies/University of Ghana

Both men and women are important players in the childbearing process, however, most fertility studies focus on women and their characteristics that impact on their reproductive life. This study demonstrates the influence of men’s preferred fertility on a woman’s ability to achieve her preferred fertility in Ghana. Drawing on 474 women from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), the study investigates how men’s preferred fertility influence the difference between a woman’s preferred and achieved fertility (fertility gap). The analyses suggest that men’s preferred fertility exerts a stronger influence on a woman’s fertility gap, and the magnitude of the effects of man’s education is significant. Underachieving fertility in Ghana seems to be associated more with a man’s preference for fewer number of children than with a woman’s increasing years of education.