Publication

This paper aggregates quantitative evidence on the socioeconomic consequences of - and methods to reduce - teenage pregnancy in the developing world. The review finds variable results for all indicator types with the partial exception of knowledge-based indicators, which increased in response to almost all evaluating interventions, though it is unclear that such interventions necessarily lead to short- or long-term behavior change. Based on these findings, the authors argue that donors should adopt a rights-based approach to adolescent fertility and shift their focus from the proximate to distal causes of pregnancy, including human rights abuses, gender inequality, child marriage, and socioeconomic marginalization.