ABSTRACT

The paper aims to contribute to studies of women’s human capital and fertility in post-Soviet societies. The post-Soviet regions are a particularly interesting setting to study this question because they have combined traditional family organization and rapid social change in recent decades. Based on evidence from Karachay-Cherkessia (Russia), we examine whether elements of a woman’s human capital can account for her fertility behavior in the context of family traditionalism. Our analysis is based in a sample survey of women conducted in 2018. Using Poisson regressions, we analyze the relation of human capital and family traditionalism to the number of children born to women of different ages. We conclude that both human capital and cultural family traditionalism (the empowerment of elder relatives in a woman’s family and a woman’s observance of religious rituals) appear to be significant for fertility decisions, with their effects working in opposite directions.

摘要

本文旨在为研究后苏联社会的妇女的人力资本和生育能力做出贡献。后苏联地区是研究这个问题的一个特别有趣的环境，因为它们在最近几十年中结合了传统的家庭组织和迅速的社会变革。根据卡拉恰伊-切尔克斯西亚（俄罗斯）的证据，我们研究了妇女的人力资本要素是否可以解释家庭传统主义背景下的生育行为。我们的分析基于2018年对妇女的抽样调查。使用Poisson回归，我们分析了人力资本和家庭传统主义与不同年龄妇女所生子女数量之间的关系。