Family change in Latin America: schooling and labor market implications for children and women

Abstract

This study investigates major family transformations across Latin American and Caribbean countries and examines their implications for children’s schooling outcomes and women’s labor force participation. We draw upon harmonized census microdata from 25 countries from the 1950s until the present, from the Integrated Public-use Microdata Series International. Latin America and Caribbean families have experienced profound transformations in recent decades, including dramatic declines in fertility, increases in cohabitation, union dissolution and single motherhood. Findings underscore the strong associations between family context and children’s educational outcome, with children from married couples performing the highest levels of attendance and progress, followed by those in single-mother households. Regarding women’s labor force participation, single mothers are more likely to participate in the labor market than any other women.