EDUCATION, MARRIAGE, AND 1ST CONCEPTION IN MALAYSIA

This paper examines cohort and ethnic differences in education, the ti ming of marriage, and the timing of first conception for women in Peni nsular Malaysia. We examine the roles of education and enrollment in d elaying marriage and first conception and the role of marriage in dela yed first conception and dropping out of school. We focus on the joint nature of these decisions by controlling for the endogeneity of one o utcome as it affects the others. Changes in education and enrollment a ccount for a substantial portion of the cohort trend toward later marr iage in Malaysia. Further, most of the rise in the age at first concep tion across cohorts and ethnic groups is fully accounted for by cohort and ethnic differences in the age at marriage.