Women's Authority, Couple Agreement, and Reproductive Outcomes in Nigeria

Mary M. Kritz, Cornell University

This paper examines the role of women's authority in shaping wives' and husbands' reproductive attitudes and behavior. We look at these issues for husbands and wives in 5 Nigerian ethnic groups. Typically women's authority is based on women's self reports but we measure it as couple agreement on wife' authority. Couple agreement on wife's authority and on reproductive issues vary. For instance, couple agreement on reproduction is relatively high on demand for children but lower on family planning approval and contraceptive use. Our analysis shows that among couples who disagree about family planning, women's authority influences whether they are likely to use it. If husbands disapprove of family planning, they are significantly more likely to be contraceptive users if the wife has household authority. That finding holds at the ethnic group level and provides strong support for the idea that women's household authority makes a difference for reproductive outcomes.