The Contributions of Childbearing within Marriage and within Consensual Union to Fertility in Latin America, 1980-2010

Benoît Laplante, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
Teresa Castro Martin, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Clara Cortina, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Ana Laura Fostik, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)

Recent research has shown that in Latin America, over the last decades, the proportion of women in their reproductive years who live in a cohabiting, or consensual, union has been rising substantially. Research also showed that in most Latin American countries, the levels and age patterns of fertility are very similar within marriage and within consensual union. However, the relative contribution of births within marriage and within consensual union to each country’s fertility remains largely unknown. Estimations based on vital statistics are impaired by the fact that they do not distinguish between unmarried mothers who live alone and those who live with a partner. We use census data from 13 Latin American countries to estimate the contribution of births within marriage and within consensual union to each country’s fertility. Results show that the contribution of consensual union varies across countries, but is rising in all of them.