Education and Contraceptive Use in the Shadow of a HIV Epidemic: Individual and Community Effects in Zambia, 1996-2007.

Abstract: Countries characterized by high fertility and low educational attainment have potential to increase adoption of modern contraceptive methods by increasing provision of education. In addition to the positive effects on contraceptive practice the education of an individual is expected to have, it is likely that there are externalities of education. The schooling of one individual is likely to influence the network of individuals in the surrounding social sphere. This study uses DHS data from two survey waves in Zambia and examines the association between women’s use of modern methods of contraception and women’s education at the individual and community level. An additional dimension of the study takes the HIV/AIDS epidemic into account, since the risk of infection influence decisions regarding fertility and contraception. Community effects of education are found to have increased in importance over time, whereas individual education has become less important. The distinction between use of hormonal methods of contraception and use of condoms is informative and indicates that treating these methods as one group may be misleading.