Does women's agency matter in the formation and realization of fertility desires? An empirical investigation in Egypt and Jordan

Abstract

This study investigates whether the agency of women in Egypt and Jordan influences their personal ideal number of children and their ability to have no more children than they desire. Moreover, a "couple's perspective" is adopted by examining whether the relationship between women’s agency and unwanted births persists even when the husband desires more children than his wife. The study uses data from the 2015 Egypt Health Issues Survey (EHIS) and the 2017-2018 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey (JPFHS). Poisson regressions are used to estimate the association between agency and fertility desires, and linear probability models are used to estimate the association between agency and the ability to have no more children than desired. The results indicate negative associations between women’s decision-making power and their personal ideal number of children in Egypt, but not in Jordan. In both countries, being involved in decisions about their own healthcare is positively associated with women’s ability to have no more children than desired. However, this positive association is not evident when the husband wants more children than his wife. Among such couples, women’s agency is negatively associated with avoiding unwanted births.