Fertility, Nuptiality, and Family Limitation Among the Wends of Serbin, Texas, 1854 to 1920

1988 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth H. Fliess

The decline of American fertility on a national scale is a well-known and well-documented phenomenon, but little is known about fertility decline at the community level. Are immigrant groups really different or are they affected by the same factors and respond to them in the same manner as native-born populations? This essay investigates the fertility and nuptiality experience of the Wends of Serbin, Texas using age-specific fertility rates, total marital fertility rates, the index of family limitation, age at last birth, birth intervals and age at first marriage for both males and females. The Wends are shown to have experienced fertility decline in the same magnitude as the rest of the country though they begin and end at higher levels.

2009 ◽  
Vol 48 (4I) ◽  
pp. 387-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Casterline

The distinction between wanted and unwanted fertility has been crucial in many of the more intense debates in recent decades over the nature of contemporary fertility declines and, in particular, the potential impact of expanded provision of family planning services. In a much-debated article published in 1994, Pritchett argues that decline in desired fertility is overwhelmingly the principal source of fertility decline, with the implication that family planning programmes are of little consequence. I revisit this debate drawing on a far larger body of survey data and, more importantly, an alternative fertility specification which relies on a non-conventional definition of wanted and unwanted fertility rates and which distinguishes rates and composition. Decompositions of fertility decline in the period from the mid-1970s to the present are carried out for 44 countries. The decomposition results indicate that declines in unwanted fertility rates have been at least as important, if not more important, than declines in wanted fertility rates. Surprisingly, shifts in the proportion of women wanting to stop childbearing—i.e., changes in preference composition—has contributed very little to fertility change in this period. Further, decline in wanted fertility and increases in non-marital exposure (due largely to delayed entry into first marriage) have also made substantial contributions, although on average they fall short of the contribution of declines in unwanted fertility rates. That declines in unwanted fertility have been an essential feature of contemporary fertility decline is the main conclusion from this research. This in turn opens the door to new perspectives on fertility pre-, mid-, and post-transition which recognises the inter-dependencies between fertility demand and unwanted fertility rates in the determination of the overall level of fertility. JEL classification: J11, J13, R11 Keywords: Demography, Fertility, Family Planning, Regional Economics


Author(s):  
Shane Doyle

This chapter reports that the main reasons why fertility rose in Ankole, Buganda and Buhaya were not associated with changing age at first marriage or a growing economic desire for larger families, but rather primarily because of the increased duration of women's reproductive lives. This was partly linked with declining divorce rates in Ankole and Buhaya; Ganda women's increasing willingness to have children outside marriage; and more importantly with a reduction in secondary sterility. A shortening of birth intervals in Buganda from the 1920s, in Ankole from the 1930s and Buhaya from the 1940s, was also significant. The chapter attempts to explain why fertility increase in Ankole occurred decades earlier than in Buganda and Buhaya, yet colonial Ankole was much poorer, less Christianized, and had inferior medical and educational services. This region's exceptionalism is explained mainly by Buganda and Buhaya's marital instability before the 1960s and surprisingly high disease burdens.


1994 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akim J. Mturi ◽  
P. R. Andrew Hinde

SummaryAccording to the 1991/92 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey, a Tanzanian woman has, on average, 6·1 births before she reaches age 50, a decline of about one birth per woman since the early 1980s. The major proximate determinant of fertility is universal and prolonged breastfeeding. An analysis of the social and demographic correlates of fertility shows that infant and child mortality, level of education and age at first marriage are among the factors which significantly influence fertility in Tanzania.


1985 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
THEODORE N. GREENSTEIN

Analyses of the combined General Social Surveys for 1972-1983 are used to estimate propensity to divorce (proportion of ever-married persons who have ever been divorced or legally separated) for major occupational categories and for selected occupations. Separate analyses for males and females show significant estimated effects of occupation on propensity to divorce even when occupational prestige, age, age at first marriage, income, education, and number of children are statistically controlled. Contrary to the findings of previous studies, male professional and technical workers do not have the lowest propensity to divorce. Propensity to divorce for male professional and technical workers, when adjusted for income, occupational prestige, age, age at first marriage, education, and number of children, is higher than for any occupational category except transport equipment operatives. For female workers, on the other hand, professional and technical workers do have the lowest propensity to divorce among nonfarm workers.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nega Mihret Alazbih ◽  
Assefa Hailemariam Kaya ◽  
Mezgebu Yitayal Mengistu ◽  
Kassahun Alemu Gelaye

Abstract Background: Fertility declines in Ethiopia have been documented since 1990s. Amhara National Regional State has recorded the most noticeable fertility decline. However, specific factors that explain the incipient course of fertility decline in the study area and their relative contributions were not well investigated. Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine the factors that contributed for fertility decline, and to assess the variations in fertility that can be attributed to both changes in characteristics and reproductive behaviors of women aged 15–49 years between 2008 and 2014 in Dabat Demographic and Health Surveillance System Site, Northwest Ethiopia.Methods: Cross sectional censuses were carried out in Dabat Health and Demographic Surveillance System site in 2008 and 2014. Data for 4,775 and 10,807 women with reproductive age in 2008 and 2014 were used for the analysis. Poisson regression model was employed to assess the trends of determinants of fertility, and Multivariate Decomposition technique was applied to evaluate observed changes in fertility using data from two consecutive cross-sectional censuses of Dabat HDSS conducted in 2008 and 2014.Results: The findings indicated that there was a reduction of an average 640.69 births per 1,000 women of the reproductive age during the year 2014 compared to the year 2008 in the surveillance site (P-value <0.001; 95% CI: -669.5 to -582.4). This overall change in fertility during the study period was attributed to both changing characteristics of women (the distribution effect) (76%) (P-value < 0.001; 95%CI: -524.74, -453.13, and their reproductive behavior (the effect shown by regression coefficients of the variables on the outcome) (24%) (P-value <0.001; 95% CI: -224.36 to -79.14). The drivers of the recent fertility decline during the study period were the shift observed in the age at first marriage, the change in the proportion of currently married women, the shift in women’s birth to later age and the change in women's educational status.Conclusion: This study indicated that the overall reduction in fertility was attributed to both changing characteristics of women and their reproductive behavior. The major contributors to the changes in fertility were the postponing of women’s first marriage to later age and the change in the proportion of currently married women over the study period. Encouraging women to complete at least secondary education are important to increase the age at first marriage and birth which intern accelerate the current fertility transition.


1983 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 1633-1652 ◽  
Author(s):  
T J Espenshade

In this paper the author applies the framework of multiregional population analysis to marital status changes as revealed by longitudinal retrospective data on marital histories collected as part of the June 1975 Current Population Survey supplement. Four marital statuses are used: never married, presently married, divorced, and widowed. Marital status life tables are computed for three periods: 1960–1965, 1965–1970, and 1970–1975, and, for each period, differences between males and females and between whites and blacks are described. We examine the proportion of a life-table cohort ever marrying, the mean age at first marriage, the number of marriages per person marrying, the proportion of marriages ending in divorce, the average duration of a marriage (or a divorce, or a widowhood), and the like.


1994 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilip C. Nath ◽  
Kenneth C. Land

SummaryThe traditional preference for sons may be the main hindrance to India's current population policy of two children per family. In this study, the effects of various sociodemographic covariates, particularly sex preference, on the length of the third birth interval are examined for the scheduled caste population in Assam, India. Life table and hazards regression techniques are applied to retrospective sample data. The analysis shows that couples having two surviving sons are less likely to have a third child than those without a surviving son and those with only one surviving son. Age at first marriage, length of preceding birth intervals, age of mother, and household income have strong effects on the length of the third birth interval.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nega Mihret Alazbih ◽  
Assefa Hailemariam Kaya ◽  
Mezgebu Yitayal Mengistu ◽  
Kassahun Alemu Gelaye

Abstract Background: Fertility declines in Ethiopia have been documented since 1990s. Amhara National Regional State has recorded the most noticeable fertility decline. However, specific factors that explain the incipient course of fertility decline in the study area and their relative contributions were not well investigated. Hence, the purpose of this study was to determine the factors that contributed for fertility decline, and to assess the variations in fertility that can be attributed to both changes in characteristics and reproductive behaviors of women aged 15–49 years between 2008 and 2014 in Dabat Demographic and Health Surveillance System Site, Northwest Ethiopia.Methods: Cross sectional censuses were carried out in Dabat Health and Demographic Surveillance System site in 2008 and 2014. Data for 4,775 and 10,807 women with reproductive age in 2008 and 2014 were used for the analysis. Poisson regression model was employed to assess the trends of determinants of fertility, and Multivariate Decomposition technique was applied to evaluate observed changes in fertility using data from two consecutive cross-sectional censuses of Dabat HDSS conducted in 2008 and 2014.Results: The findings indicated that there was a reduction of an average 641 births per 1,000 women of the reproductive age during the year 2014 compared to the year 2008 in the surveillance site (P-value <0.001; 95% CI: -669.5, -582.4). This overall change in fertility during the study period was attributed to both changing characteristics of women (the distribution effect) (78%) (P-value <0.001; 95%CI: -537.65, -462.32), and their reproductive behavior (the effect shown by regression coefficients of the variables on the outcome) (22%) (P-value <0.001; 95% CI: -214.56 to -67.368). The drivers of the recent fertility decline during the study period were the shift observed in the age at first marriage, the change in the proportion of currently married women, the shift in women’s birth to later age and the change in women's educational status.Conclusion: This study indicated that the overall reduction in fertility was attributed to both changing characteristics of women and their reproductive behavior. The major contributors to the changes in fertility were the postponing of women’s first marriage to later age and the change in the proportion of currently married women over the study period. Encouraging women to complete at least secondary education are important to increase the age at first marriage and birth which intern accelerate the current fertility transition.


2001 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-238
Author(s):  
Zeba A. Sathar ◽  
John B. Casterline

In a Comment published in the Autumn 2000 issue of this journal, Mr Ghulam Soomro1 takes issue with our recent article in Population and Development Review.2 Although Mr Soomro is highly critical of our article, we are pleased that he has read the article carefully and made the effort to write an extended comment. We are not prepared, however, to concede the major points in that Comment. Two major points are made by him. First, that marital fertility decline is a small component of the recent fertility decline in Pakistan, which has been mainly due to postponement of entry to first marriage. Second, that the underlying motivation for fertility change in the 1990s has been economic distress, a consequence in part of the structural adjustment programmes instituted in the late 1980s. However, in the first point, Soomro interprets the demographic data from the past three decades incorrectly and, in the second point, he misrepresents our argument.


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