Demographic conditions in childhood and opportunities during youth and at adulthood

Estelle Koussoubé, Université Paris-Dauphine, LEDa, UMR DIAL
Florence Arestoff, Université Paris-Dauphine
Elodie Djemai, Université Paris-Dauphine
Sabine Mage, Université Paris-Dauphine

The objective of this paper is to investigate the conditions under which the demographic dividend can materialize in Sub-Saharan Africa. The analyses of countries more advanced in their demographic transition (in Asia or Latin America) may be useful to anticipate the possible impacts of demographic changes in African countries. Using all available demographic and health surveys collected in developing countries (Asian, African and Latin American countries particularly) since the 1980s, we explore the impact of the demographic conditions at childhood on child and adult outcomes. More specifically, micro-level data from the demographic and health surveys are matched with time series data on demographic conditions (fertility rate, mortality rate, dependency ratio) for each country of the sample to estimate and quantify the impact of changes in the demographic pressure at childhood on child outcomes (health and education) and adult outcomes (e.g. ownership of durable goods, labor market participation and educational attainment).