Female education and its impact on fertility : the relationship is more complex than one may think

The negative correlation between women's education and fertility is strongly observed across regions and time; however, its interpretation is unclear. Women's education level could affect fertility through its impact on women's health and their physical capacity to give birth, children's health, the number of children desired, and women's ability to control birth and knowledge of different birth control methods. Each of these mechanisms depends on the individual, institutional, and country circumstances experienced. Their relative importance may change along a country's economic development process.