This paper explores the causal relationship between female education and fertility by exploiting a change in
the compulsory schooling law (CSL) in Turkey. Using exposure to the CSL across cohorts as an instrumental
variable, the results indicate that an extra year of female schooling reduces teenage fertility by 0.03 births,
which is a reduction of 33%. Exploring heterogeneous effects indicates that female education reduces teenage
fertility more in provinces with higher initial fertility and lower population density. Finally, the CSL postponeschildbearing by delaying marriage thereby reducing fertility.