Reproducibility package for Weather Shocks And Unintended Fertility In Sub-Saharan Africa
Overview
We examine the effects of drought shocks on unintended pregnancies across 18 sub-Saharan African countries. The results show that drought exposure increases the likelihood of unintended pregnancy by one to two percentage points (about 3% - 6%), depending on the specification. We further find that children born from unintended pregnancies are less likely to receive antenatal care, less likely to be delivered in health facilities, and more vulnerable to illness. We also find that unintended pregnancies have implications on women’s labor market outcomes. Overall, the findings indicate that drought shocks intensify women’s economic and reproductive vulnerabilities. Given the wide-ranging consequences of unintended births for both mothers and children, the results highlight the importance of integrating reproductive health interventions into climate adaptation policies.
Reproducibility Package
| Repository name | URI |
|---|---|
| Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) | https://reproducibility.worldbank.org |
Reproducibility
Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
• OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
• Processor: INTEL(R) XEON(R) PLATINUM 8562Y+ 2.80 GHz (2 processors)
• Memory available: 32 GB
Run time: ~ 6 hours
- Secure Access to Data: Access the datasets not included in the package. See subsection Datasets for more details.
- Download and Place Data: Once the data is accessed, users should place it in the appropriate folder.
- Run the Package: After placing the data in the folder:
- Follow the steps "Construction of Geospatial Variables Using ArcGIS and Stata" to process the datasets in ArcGIS.
- Update the global in line 20 of the do-file "dofile/Main" to your folder's location, and run the do-file.
- Update the global in lines 18 and 19 of the do-file "replicate_mechanisms/dofile/Main_Mechanisms" to your folder's location, and run the do-file.
Since all the data is not included, the package includes the results produced by replicators. These files can be used to review the results presented in the paper.
Data
Some data is limited-access and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, refer to the README file.
Description
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Musa Hasen Ahmed | Independent Consultant | musahasen@gmail.com |
| Halefom Yigzaw Nigus | Policy Studies Institute and International Food Policy Research Institute | halefom23@gmail.com |
| Hiwot Mekonnen Mesfin | World Bank | hmesfin@worldbank.org |
| Gebrelibanos Gebremariam | Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia | G.gebremedhin@gmail.com |
2026-03-23
Scope and coverage
| Location | Code |
|---|---|
| Africa | AFR |
Disclaimer
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Access and rights
| Name | URI |
|---|---|
| Modified BSD3 | https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/ |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Hiwot Mekonnen Mesfin | World Bank | hmesfin@worldbank.org |
| Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Information on metadata
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproducibility WBG | DECDI | World Bank - Development Impact Department | Verification and preparation of metadata |
2026-03-23
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