It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh
An abundant demographic literature examines the impacts of climatic and environmental change on human migration and health. However, somewhat less is known about the effects of environmental changes, especially flood events, on fertility despite plausible reasons to expect such impacts. We address t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178496 |
| _version_ | 1855518636307906560 |
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| author | Thiede, Brian C. Chen, Joyce J. Mueller, Valerie Hultquist, Carolynne Salim, Zarmeen |
| author_browse | Chen, Joyce J. Hultquist, Carolynne Mueller, Valerie Salim, Zarmeen Thiede, Brian C. |
| author_facet | Thiede, Brian C. Chen, Joyce J. Mueller, Valerie Hultquist, Carolynne Salim, Zarmeen |
| author_sort | Thiede, Brian C. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | An abundant demographic literature examines the impacts of climatic and environmental change on human migration and health. However, somewhat less is known about the effects of environmental changes, especially flood events, on fertility despite plausible reasons to expect such impacts. We address this gap by examining the relationship between exposure to flooding and fertility in Bangladesh, which has experienced several catastrophic flood events in recent decades. We link birth records from the Demographic and Health Survey with satellite-derived measures of flooding from 2001 through 2018 and fit regression models to measure the effects of flood exposures on the probability of live births in subsequent years. To explore pathways, we also construct and analyze panels of women's entry into first marriage and mortality among under-5 children. Flooding has uneven effects on fertility across the target population. We detect statistically and substantively meaningful flood-related increases in childbearing among less-educated and higher parity women but find flood-related fertility declines among childless women and those in urban areas. Results also suggest that flood-related delays in marriage among urban women may explain their reductions in fertility. However, findings otherwise provide little systematic evidence that marriage and child mortality mediate the links between flood exposures and fertility. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace178496 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| publisherStr | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1784962025-12-19T20:38:12Z It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh Thiede, Brian C. Chen, Joyce J. Mueller, Valerie Hultquist, Carolynne Salim, Zarmeen infants flooding natural disasters fertility models mortality urban areas An abundant demographic literature examines the impacts of climatic and environmental change on human migration and health. However, somewhat less is known about the effects of environmental changes, especially flood events, on fertility despite plausible reasons to expect such impacts. We address this gap by examining the relationship between exposure to flooding and fertility in Bangladesh, which has experienced several catastrophic flood events in recent decades. We link birth records from the Demographic and Health Survey with satellite-derived measures of flooding from 2001 through 2018 and fit regression models to measure the effects of flood exposures on the probability of live births in subsequent years. To explore pathways, we also construct and analyze panels of women's entry into first marriage and mortality among under-5 children. Flooding has uneven effects on fertility across the target population. We detect statistically and substantively meaningful flood-related increases in childbearing among less-educated and higher parity women but find flood-related fertility declines among childless women and those in urban areas. Results also suggest that flood-related delays in marriage among urban women may explain their reductions in fertility. However, findings otherwise provide little systematic evidence that marriage and child mortality mediate the links between flood exposures and fertility. 2025-12 2025-12-03T17:07:52Z 2025-12-03T17:07:52Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178496 en Open Access Wiley Thiede, Brian C.; Chen, Joyce J.; Mueller, Valerie; Hultquist, Carolynne; and Salim, Zarmeen. 2025. It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh. Population and Development Review 51(4): 1466-1498. https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.70030 |
| spellingShingle | infants flooding natural disasters fertility models mortality urban areas Thiede, Brian C. Chen, Joyce J. Mueller, Valerie Hultquist, Carolynne Salim, Zarmeen It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh |
| title | It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh |
| title_full | It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh |
| title_fullStr | It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh |
| title_full_unstemmed | It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh |
| title_short | It's raining babies? Flood exposures and fertility in Bangladesh |
| title_sort | it s raining babies flood exposures and fertility in bangladesh |
| topic | infants flooding natural disasters fertility models mortality urban areas |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178496 |
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