Information in Schools, Contraception, and Young-Age Fertility in Costa Rica: Evidence from the National Youth Surveys of 2011 and 2018

Pamela Argueta-Dimas, Universidad de Costa Rica
Paula Cortés-Cascante, Universidad de Costa Rica
Gilbert Brenes-Camacho, CCP, Universidad de Costa Rica

Since 2001, Costa Rica has been experiencing fertility rates below replacement level. A policy to strengthen sex education in schools in Costa Rica was developed since 2006. I use the National Youth Surveys of 2011 and 2018, which focus on the population aged 15 to 35, to analyze how information at schools and in the family, as well as contraceptive methods, predict differences in fertility. The data were analyzed using zero-inflated Poisson models separated by sex. The proportion of both men and women who did not use protection during their first sexual intercourse decreased, and the prevalence of condom use during the first coital encounter increased, although not during the last. The diversity of information about sexual and reproductive health, mainly from educational institutions, predicts a lower fertility rate for both men and, especially, women. The level of education, socioeconomic status, and employment status predict the number of children had, although education level has become more significant in the most recent year in predicting childlessness by age 35. The policies that strengthen the provision of sex education in Costa Rica seem to have had an important influence in fertility rates in Costa Rica during the last two decades.

Keywords: Family Planning and Contraception, Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Human Capital, Education, and Work

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