CHAPTER I1

SURVEY OF LITERATURE

I n t r o d u c t i o n

The primary o b j e c t i v e of t h i s s tudy i s t o

unders tand t h e behaviour of mar r ied couples w i t h r e s p e c t t o

f e r t i l i t y and fami ly s i z e . There a r e v a r i o u s f a c t o r s which

i n f l u e n c e f e r t i l i t y behaviour and each f a c t o r o p e r a t e s w i t h

d i f f e r e n t s t r e n g t h . A survey of e x i s t i n g l i t e r a t u r e on

f e r t i l i t y w i l l be of g r e a t use f o r i d e n t i f y i n g t h e f a c t o r s

and e v a l u a t i n g t h e methods t o be used. The s tudy of

f e r t i l i t y h a s been a common a r e a of r e s e a r c h among s o c i a l

s c i e n t i s t s i n v a r i o u s d i s c i p l i n e s l i k e an thropology ,

demography, economics, soc io logy and psychology. The work

done i n t h i s a r e a i s v a s t and v a r i e d t h a t it i s beyond t h e

scope o f t h i s r e s e a r c h work t o p r e s e n t a comprehensive

survey of a l l i m p o r t a n t works. However, a number of

e x c e l l e n t survey works have been publ i shed i n each f i e l d .

The emphasis h e r e i s on major t h e o r i e s and s t u d i e s of

f e r t i l i t y t h a n can be c a l l e d economic approach. By economics

of f e r t i l i t y we mean t h a t couples make a c h o i c e i n t h e a r e a

of f e r t i l i t y ; t h e y weigh t h e c o s t s and b e n e f i t s of having

c h i l d r e n and compare them w i t h c o s t s and b e n e f i t s of

alternative consumption/investment goods. Further, they also

decide the size of the family, i.e. number of children they

would like to have. In other words, couples are rational;

they have preference and act in such a way as to reach their

preference with minimum effort. We further narrow our

discussion to studies and theories closely related to the

approach followed in this study, namely economic approach to

fertility behaviour or household production function

approach.

Economic Approach to Fertility Behaviour

Although interesting insights on the economics of

population can be derived since Malthus (17981, systematic

development of the economics of fertility begins only in the

late 19501s, when Leibenstein (1957) and Becker (1960)

attempted to apply consumer demand theory to the study of

fertility behaviour. The primary justification for the

application of a micro economic framework to fertility

analysis is that fertility decisions are made in a manner

that is analogous to more usual economic choices (Willis,

1973). Many studies in both developed and developing

countries indicate that economic consequences exert a

considerable influence on couple's reproductive decision

( S c h u l t z , 1 9 7 4 ) . F u r t h e r , p a r e n t s a l l over t h e world o f t e n

r e p o r t t h a t c h i l d r e n p lay p o s i t i v e economic r o l e s , i n terms

of p rov id ing s a t i s f a c t i o n s o r work c o n t r i b u t i o n s o r bo th

(Bula tao , 1 9 7 9 ) . I n f a c t , i n r e c e n t y e y s t h e s tudy of t h e

economic d e t e r m i n a n t s of household demographic behaviour has

c o n t r i b u t e d t o a r e a p p r a i s a l of t h e consequences of

popula t ion growth on economic development ( S c h u l t z , 1 9 8 7 ) .

Even w i t h i n t h e domain of micro economic

t h e o r i e d s t u d i e s a r e d i v e r s i f i e d i n t h e i r purpose and scope.

~ e c o g n i z i n g t h e fami ly a s a d e c i s i o n making u n i t t a k e s on a

v a r i e t y of e x t e n s i v e forms, many models have been developed

t o r e p r e s e n t t h i s f l e x i b l e i n s t i t u t i o n . Long term n a t u r e of

l i f e - c y c l e commitments, and t h e n a t u r e of endogenous

household d e c i s i o n s n e c e s s i t a t e s such d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n

approach t o t h e s tudy o f f e r t i l i t y d e c i s i o n s . Hence, t h e

scope of household d e c i s i o n s making, model l ing has been

extended t o i n c l u d e l i f e - c y c l e , dynamic and s t r a t e g i c demand

models and j o i n t d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f household d e c i s i o n s such

a s a g e a t m a r r i a g e , f e r t i l i t y , human c a p i t a l i n v e s t m e n t s ,

household l a b o u r f o r c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n and wages and

migra t ion . I n view of enormous l i t e r a t u r e on t h e s e a s p e c t s

r e l a t e d w i t h f e r t i l i t y , our scope i s conf ined t o a review of

t h e t h e o r y and e v i d e n c e of t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n o n l y

under the following specific economic motives for having

children, viz., consumption utility, income utility old age

security utility, son preference, and consequences of family

planning practices on demand for qildren and impact of

women's labour force participation on fertility.

Much of the recent work interpreting fertility as

an economic choice has adopted the 'new home economicst

approach that treats the number of children born as wholly

demand determined. The dominance of demand factors become

progressively greater as the birth control technology

improves and becomes more widely available (Rosenweig and

Schultz, 1985a, 1985b).

Consumption Utility and the Demand for Children

Becker (1960) maintains that parents everywhere

get pleasure from having own children. Children are regarded

as satisfactions in themselves; hence children are consumer

durables. Beckerts argument is relatively simple; fertility

decisions are economic in that they involve a research for

an optimum number of children in the face of resource

constraint. Parents have three arguments in the utility

function; the number of children, the quality of those

children and the quantity of other goods which they consume.

They face a lifetime income constraint, and their problem is

to maximize utility given the income constraint. The whole

theory of fertility as consumption rests on the postulates

that parents respond to economic considerations in children,

and that parents equate marginal sacrifices and

satisfactions in having children (Becker 1960; Schultz,

1974). Becker assumed children to be 'normal goods' and

therefore, the effect of income on fertility is hypothesized

to be positive.

With the introduction of the notion of opportunity

cost of time by mincer (1962, 19631, particularly that of

female time as a component of the price faced by parents in

child bearing, both theoretical and empirical studies of

fertility grew in number. Mincer shifted the emphasis from

money costs to opportunity costs and from current income to

permanent income, that influences parental decisions,

Mincer's empirical test with U.S. data confirmed his

theoretical prediction of negative price effect (measured by

wife's wage) and positive income effect (measured by

husband' s wage ) .

The extension of the demand theory to encompass

the allocation of time by Becker (1965) Lancaster (1966) and

Muth (1966) provided rigorous way to analyze the household

non-market activities, the most notable and measurable of

which is probably the production of children. The salient

features of this modern 'new home economics' may be briefly

described as follows: the family is assumed to possess a

family utility function in which the arguments are basic

commodities', and not the market goods and services as in

the traditional theory. These basic commodities are home

produced, using household member's time and market purchased

goods and services and the production processes are

described by 'household technology' . These home produced

commodities are not tradeable and have shadow prices. In

addition to the usual money income constraint, there is also

the * time constraint' for the household. These two I

constraints together constitute the full

income'constraints, on the assumption that time can be

converted into goods by selling time in the market for

wages. It is hypothesized that the household maximize family

utility subject to the constraints of production function

and full income.

Following t h o s e developments, Willis (1973)

f o r m a l l y d e r i v e d t h e demand f o r t h e number of c h i l d r e n a long

w i t h t h e demand f o r c h i l d q u a l i t y . Michael (1973) analyzed

t h e e f f e c t of e d u c a t i o n on t h e demand f o r demand f o r

c h i l d r e n ; Detray (19731, Becker and Lewis (1973) and Becker

and Tomes (1976) ana lyzed t h e i n t e r a c t i o n between q u a n t i t y

and q u a l i t y of c h i l d r e n and t h e i r e f f e c t on t h e demand f o r

c h i l d r e n . Ben P o r a t h ( 1 9 7 3 ) , Gardner ( 1 9 7 3 ) , Hashimoto

(1974) and S c h u l t z ( 1 9 7 4 ) ' a r e t h e o t h e r s who have ana lyzed

t h e r e p r o d u c t i v e behaviour wi th t h i s frame work. The

s u c c e s s f u l a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e new home economic model t o t h e

f e r t i l i t y behaviour i n developed c o u n t r i e s has l e d t o i t s

a p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e deve lop ing c o u n t r i e s . However, l e s s

deve loped c o u n t r i e s e x h i b i t only mixed r e s u l t s .

Subsequent e l a b o r a t i o n s of t h e new home economic

approach a r e d i v e r s i f i e d . One such e x t e n s i o n i s t h e

i n c l u s i o n of b i o l o g i c a l a s p e c t s of r e p r o d u c t i o n i n t o t h e

models o f f e r t i l i t y . Heckman and Willis (1976) a t t empted t o

f o r m u l a t e a r a t i o n a l model of r e p r o d u c t i v e d e c i s i o n making

w i t h i n a s t o c h a s t i c dynamic program ming framework.

Rosenzweig and S c h u l t z (1985a 1985b) i n c l u d e exogenous

g e n e t i c and envi ronmenta l f a c t o r s t h a t a f f e c t t h e f a m i l y ' s

p r o d u c t i o n o f C h i l d h e a l t h . Resenzweig and S c h u l t z (1983a)

relaxes the assumption of no joint production with little

added complexity and allows for random allocation of goods

without reference to household decisions (for e.g.,the

occurrence of twins in Resenzweiq and Wolpin, 1980).

Resenzweig and Schultz (1985a, 1985bj develop instrumental:

variable estimates of a reproduction function which can

explain subsequent modifications in the couple's

contraceptive behaviour and wife's market labour supply.

Dynamic fertility models have been and continuous to be an

active area of research (Wolpin, 1984; Heckman, Hotz and

Walker, 1985; Newman, 1987). Bernteim, Shleifer and Summers

(1985) and Bernheim and Stark (1986) develop a strategic

demand model for children (encompassing various motives and

preferences).

The received demand theory suggests that the

income and prices are the most important determinants of the

demand for consumption goods. Since the new home economic

model relies heavily on the received demand theory, its

emphasize on the income effect and price effect on the

demand for children is worth noting. This following two

sub-sections briefly review the theory and empirical

evidence for the income effect and the price effect on the

demand for children.

F e r t i l i t y - Income R e l a t i o n s h i p

H i s t o r i c a l ev idence shows t h a t income growth t e n d

t o reduce f e r t i l i t y i n t h e long r u n , a u e a s t a t t h e macro

l e v e l on t h e o t h e r hand, i f c h i l d r e n resemble normal goods,

a s assumed by t h e new home economists , economic theory would

p o s t u l a t e a p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e family income

and t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n . T y p i c a l l y , economic t h e o r y

s u g g e s t s t h a t income may have v a r i e t y of e f f e c t s on

f e r t i l i t y depending on t h e sources of income change and

environment faced by t h e household. The pure income e f f e c t

on t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n i s very l i k e l y t o be p o s i t i v e ,

w h i l e some major i n d i r e c t e f f e c t s a r e n e g a t i v e ; t h e t o t a l

income e f f e c t be e i t h e r p o s i t i v e o r n e g a t i v e . The p u r e

income e f f e c t i s d e f i n e d a s t h e change i n t h e demand f o r

c h i l d r e n t h a t i s d i r e c t l y a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t h e change i n

income, whi le economis t s s u s p e c t t h a t t h e income e l a s t i c i t y

o f demand f o r c h i l d r e n i s p o s i t i v e (Becker and Lewis, 19731,

t h e r e i s no th ing i n economic t h e o r y t h a t p r e c l u d e s w e a l t h i e r

p a r e n t s demanding fewer c h i l d r e n (Muel le r and s h o r t , 1 9 8 3 ) .

The i n d i r e c t e f f e c t s a r e t h o s e which o p e r a t e

th rough v a r i a b l e s t h a t a r e c a u s e s and consequences of income

change, such a s changes i n t h e v a l u e of t i m e , c o s t s of

c h i l d r e n , t a s t e s f o r consumer goods, perceived b e n e f i t s from

c h i l d r e n and female and c h i l d l a b o u r f o r c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n .

There a r e wide spectrum of e m p i r i c a l r e s u l t s depending on

t h e u n i t of a n a l y s i s , v a r i a b l e s measured and used , d a t a

s o u r c e s , l o c a l i t i e s and s t a t i s t i c a l t echniques used. S t u d i e s

i n v a r i o u s c o u n t r i e s , a t t h e aggrega te l e v e l , f a i l t o

s u p p o r t t h a t income i n c r e a s e s c h i l d b e a r i n g (Thorn t o n , 1978;

B i r d s a l l and Jamison, 1983; F i n d l e y and Orr, 1978) . However,

Keeley (1980) found f o r urban Kenya t h a t c h i l d r e n a r e normal

good, i . e . , a p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between income and

f e r t i l i t y .

A t t h e household l e v e l t h e e f f e c t s a r e n o t

d e f i n i t i v e ; much of t h e e f f e c t s depend on t h e s o u r c e s of

income changes. The economics of educa t ion t e a c h e s u s t h a t

(male and female) e d u c a t i o n i s impor tan t among t h e

d e t e r m i n a n t s of income changes, i n t h a t i t s i n f l u e n c e on

income o p e r a t e s e n t i r e l y th rough t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y of t i m e ;

w h i l e it g e n e r a t e s a p o s i t i v e income e f f e c t on t h e demand

f o r c h i l d r e n , it a l s o r a i s e s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y c o s t of t ime .

If c h i l d r e n a r e i n t e n s i v e i n female t ime , t h e p r i c e e f f e c t

w i l l be n e g a t i v e and hence, t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n

d e c r e a s e s w i t h educa t ion (Willis, 1973; Michael, 1973).

F u r t h e r , h i g h e r educa t ion induces e f f i c i e n t c o n t r a c e p t i v e

use, and thereby reduces the demand for children (Becker,

1960).

Another source of income change is husband's

earnings. There is substantial evidence, especially in

developed countries, that the response of fertility to

changes in husband's earnings (or education, where it is

proxy for male earnings) is positive; while the changes in

wife's earning is negative or atleast less positive that

husband's earnings (Mueller and Cohn, 1977). Asset structure

of the household also induce income changes. A pure increase

in the non-labour income is positively associated with

fertility (Willis, 1973; Detray, 1973; Benporath, 1973). In

developing countries, where land is used as a measure of

asset, various measures of landed property shows a

consistent (most cases are significant) positive

relationship; implying positive income effect in rural areas

(Kleiman 1973; Rogenzweig and Evenson, 1977; Cain, 1983;

Nugent, Kan and Walter, 1983; Schutjer and Stokes, 1982).

However Repetto (1978) obtains a mixture of positive and

negative coefficients.

The inverse relationship between income and

.fertility is generally observed for urban areas as shown by

an analysis of data from thirty eight less developed

countries (Findley and Orr, 1978). This is consistent with

the one found by Ben Porth (1973) for Israel, Schultz (1981)

for Columbia, Khan and Sirageldin (1.79) for Pakistan and

Encarnacian (1974) for Philippines Urban data. Similarly,

the positive income-fertility relationship in rural areas is

supported by Mueller and Cohn (1977) for Taiwan, Anker

(1977) and Cherinichovsky (1982) for India, Schultz (1981)

for Columbia and Khan and Sirageldin (1979) for Pakistan.

Another interesting finding is the existence of

income threshold and non-linear effects in the

income-fertility relationship. From Philippines data

Encarnacion (1974) finds a significant positive relation to

fertility to income for groups below a level of appropriate

median income. The non linear effect is also supported by

Canlas (1978) with new data set for Philippines and Repetto

(1978) for Puerto Rica. Studies also report insignificant or

no relationship between income and fertility (Nerlove and

Schultz, 1970; Ben Porath, 1973; Mueller and Cohn, 1977).

Income increases also enhances the desire for

higher quality children and taste for consumer durable

(Becker and Lewis, 1973; Easterlin, 1968, 19691. The rising

consumption and educational aspirations coupled with the

d e c l i n e i n perce ived b e n e f i t s from c h i l d r e n (Mueller 1972;

Bula tao , 1979; Caldwell , 1978, 1982) , may cause a s e c u l a r

d e c l i n e i n t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n ( E a s t e r l i n , 1973) .

F e r t i l i t y - P r i c e o f C h i l d r e n R e l a t i o n s h i p

The r e l a t i v e c o s t s of v a r i o u s goods and t ime

i n p u t s a r e presumed t o a f f e c t t h e c o s t of c h i l d r e n . The new

home economic model p r e d i c t s a n e g a t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between

t h e c o s t of t ime and goods needed t o r a i s e c h i l d r e n and

f e r t i l i t y ( W i l l i s , 1 9 7 3 ) . The proponents of t h e economic

t h e o r y of f e r t i l i t y view c h i l d r e n a s ' t ime- in tens ive '

e s p e c i a l l y i n female t ime. This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e i f

c h i l d r e n a r e t o be w e l l ca red f o r and wel l educated.

T h e r e f o r e , t h e c o s t s of t i m e i n p u t s e x e r t an i n f l u e n c e on

t h e f a m i l y s i z e of couples . Chi ld b e a r i n g t i m e i s assumed t o

be prov ided l a r g e l y by mothers , s o t h a t t h e c o s t of t h e

m o t h e r ' s t i m e t a k e s on c e n t r a l importance. Gronau (1973) has

proposed a t i m e a l l o c a t i o n procedure between.marketed work,

non-market work and l e i s u r e . The new home economics model

a l l o w s f o r a t rade-of f between mother ' s market t i m e and

c h i l d b e a r i n g time. The v a l u e of m o t h e r ' s t i m e i s determined

by t h e amount she could e a r n i f s h e were t o engage i n income

e a r n i n g a c t i v i t i e s .

The economic theory of fertility assumes that time

use responds fairly to changes in economic and demographic

circumstances. Quite often, the amount of time that women

devote to household work decreases with education and market

work time increases with education (Gronau, 1973; Malathy,

1984). Education affects the demand for children primarily

by its effect on i) the opportunity cost of the wther's

time, ii) the father's and mother's income and iii) the

modernization and aspiration of the family. Indirectly,

female education affects the demand for children via

knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception (Jain,

1981; Jain and Nag, 1985; Nag, 1980; Nag and Kak, 1984;

Rosenzweig and Sciver, 1982). Michael (1973) identifies four

channels through which education influences fertility;

utility (or preference) function, wealth constraint,

production constraint and .time constraint. The most

important demand effects of education are the effects on the

perceived costs and benefits of children and on the family

size preferences.

An analysis of the relationship between female

education and fertility clearly shows three different

patterns. First, there is an overwhelming empirical evidence

for an inverse relation ship, both in developed and in less

developed c o u n t r i e s , even i f measures of educa t ion and

f e r t i l i t y a r e d i f f e r e n t (Michael , 1973; Ben P o r a t h , 1973;

Anker, 1977; Schul tz , 1969; F r i e d l a n d e r and s i l v e r , 1967;

Mccabe and Rosenzweig, 1976; Blake and D e l p i n a l , 1982) . The

i n v e r s e r e l a t i o n s h i p i s much s t r o n g e r and much more

c o n s i s t e n t f o r female t h a n f o r male educa t ion and f o r urban

r a t h e r t h a n r u r a l a r e a s (cochrane , 1979; Hermalin and Mason,

1980; B i r d s a l l and Jamison, 1983) .

Secondly, t h e r e a r e some e v i d e n t c a s e s , wi th some

t h r e s h o l d and non l i n e a r e f f e c t s . The f i n d i n g s by

Encarnacian (1974) and Canlas (1978) show t h e presence of an

e d u c a t i o n t h r e s h o l d such t h a t more y e a r s of school ing of

female below t h e t h r e s h o l d have p r o n a t a l i s t e f f e c t . Only

beyond t h i s t h r e s h o l d , t h a t more y e a r s o f female school ing

appear t o e x e r t a n e g a t i v e i n f l u e n c e (Behrman and Wolfe,

1984; K i r k , 1971) .

T h i r d l y , t h e r e i s a s t r a n g e p a t t e r n ; more o r l e s s

a c u r v i l i n e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p between e d u c a t i o n and f e r t i l i t y

(Cocharane, 1979, 1983; J a i n and Nag, 1985) . The

f e r t i l i t y - f e m a l e educa t ion r e l a t i o n s h i p i s s t e e p a t very low

l e v e l s o f e d u c a t i o n and t e n d s t o f l a t t e n o r even t u r n up a t

t h e t o p (Ben P o r a t h , 1973) . The c u r v i l i n e a r n a t u r e may be

d u e t o t h e r e l a t i v e i y low f e r t i l i t y of i l l i t e r a t e women w i t h

h i g h e r p reva lence of f e r t i l i t y - i n h i b i t i n g f a c t o r s , such a s

b r e a s t f e e d i n g and c h i l d m o r t a l i t y . Cocharane (1983)

observes t h a t t h e g e n e r a l i n v e r s e and an i n v e r t e d U shape

c u r v i l i n e a r r e l a t i o n s t i l l ho lds f o r many developing

c o u n t r i e s .

Female e d u c a t i o n a l s o o p e r a t e s i n d i r e c t l y on t h e

p r i c e of c h i l d r e n by i n f l u e n c i n g o t h e r i n t e r v e n i n g f a c t o r s

a f f e c t i n g t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n . I t i n f l u e n c e s t h e female

a g e a t mar r iage (Cocharane, 1983; Rodriguez and Cle land ,

1 9 8 0 ) , t h e i n f a n t and c h i l d m o r t a l i t y ( C a l d w e l l ) , 1979,

1982; P r e s t o n , 1978; 1980; S c h u l t z , 1976b) and t h e awareness

and u s e of h e a l t h c a r e (Nag.1983).

Thus, a l though t h e income e f f e c t s of female

e d u c a t i o n on t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n a r e u n c l e a r , t h e c o s t

e f f e c t s a r e g e n e r a l l y nega t ive . A l a r g e p a r t of it stems

from t h e v a l u e of time e f f e c t of female educa t ion .

Income U t i l i t y and Demand f o r Chi ld ren

The micro economic t h e o r y o f f e r t i l i t y behaviour

t h a t i s based on t h e consumption u t i l i t y frame work,

a b s t r a c t s from t h e produc t ive o r economic c o n t r i b u t i o n of

c h i l d r e n . The emphasis of t h e consumption u t i l i t y t h e o r y i s

on t h e c o s t s of c h i l d bear ing .

When consumption u t i l i t y model i s a p p l i e d t o t h e

r u r a l households i n LDCS, t h e e m p i r i c a l r e s u l t s do no t ho ld

good w i t h t h e o r e t i c a l r e s u l t s . It has been argued by a

number of r e s e a r c h e r s t h a t t h e p e r s i s t e n c e of high f e r t i l i t y

i n Third World i s due t o , among o t h e r f a c t o r s , t h e h igher

monetary rewards from c h i l d r e n . P a r e n t s p r e f e r c h i l d r e n

because t h e y p r o f i t from them. C h i l d r e n a s investment good

has been suppor ted by e m p i r i c a l s t u d i e s of Caldwell (1977)

and Keeley (1980) f o r A f r i c a ; White (1976) and Hull (1975)

f o r Indones ia ; Bankskota and Evenson (19781, Popkin (1976)

f o r P h i l i p p i n e s ; Mamdani ( 1 9 7 2 ) , Rosenzweig (19821,

Rozenzweig and Evenson (1977) and Duraisamy (1984) f o r

I n d i a ; Cain (1977) f o r Bangladesh; Det ray (1979, 1983) f o r

Malaysia; and Levy (1985) f o r Egypt, among o t h e r s .

Rosenzweig (1977) and Rosenzweig and Evenson

(1977) extended t h e household p r o d u c t i o n f u n c t i o n framework,

by e x p l i c i t l y r e c o g n i z i n g t h e r o l e of c h i l d r e n a s

' p r o d u c t i v e l a b o u r e r s ' . It h a s been shown t h a t t h e p r i c e and

income e f f e c t s d e r i v e d from t h i s ex tended framework d i f f e r

from t h o s e implied by t h e consumption motive; and t h a t t h e

parameters p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e demand f o r and supply of

a g r i c u l t u r a l l a b o u r , such a s wage r a t e f o r farm l a b o u r , farm

technology and c ropping p a t t e r n r , a r e t h e impor tan t*

de te rminants of t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n i n Rural households

(Rosenzweig and Evenson (1977) .

The system of l a n d t e n u r e i s t h e main f a c t o r i n

t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of t h e m a t e r i a l va lue of c h i l d r e n among

r u r a l households (Mamdani, 1972; Ware, 1978; Devancy and

Sanchez, 1979; S c h u t j e r and s t o k e s , 1984; Tolany, 1987) . The

p r o n a t a l i s t impact of l andhold ing of f e r t i l i t y r e c e i v e d

c o n s i d e r a b l e suppor t from t h e s t u d i e s by Dr iver ( 1 9 6 3 ) ,

Kleiman (1973) and Rosenzweig and Even son (1977) f o r I n d i a ;

L a t i f and Chowdhury (1977) and s t o e c k e l and chowdhury 1980

f o r Bangladesh; Aghajanian (1978) and Ajami (1976) f o r I r a n ,

S t y s (1957) f o r Poland and Buripakdi (1977) f o r Tha i land .

F u r t h e r , a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n p a t t e r n s were c l o s e l y

r e l a t e d t o f e r t i l i t y p a t t e r n s ( S c h u t j e r e t . a l . , 1980; Levy,

1985) .

Given t h a t t h e economic c o n t r i b u t i o n o f c h i l d r e n

i s i m p o r t a n t f o r f a m i l y d e c i s i o n , s t u d i e s a t t e m p t t o measure

t h e c o n t r i b u t i ~ n s of c h i l d r e n . It c o n s i s t s of bo th t h e

pecunia ry and non-pecuniary c o n t r i b u t i o n s . G e n e r a l l y , t h e

l abour f o r c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e and t h e h o u r s of work i n t h e

p r o d u c t i v e a c t i v i t i e s a r e regarded a s economic c o n t r i b u t i o n

of c h i l d r e n ( S r i n i v a s a n e t . a l .1979; D c t r a y , ( 1 9 8 3 ) . I n an

a g r a r i a n s t r u c t u r e , where product ion t a k e s p l a c e w i t h i n

' f a m i l i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , ' c h i l d r e n a r e s u b s t i t u t e s f o r h i r e d

labour and f o r fami ly members i n t h e home work (Caldwel l ,

1983; Ware, 1978) . I t i s g e n e r a l l y observed t h a t c h i l d r e n

s t a r t t o work a t t h e a g e of 6 o r 7 and become n e t

c o n t r i b u t o r s a t t h e a g e o f 12-14 (Cain , 1 9 7 7 ) , Cabanero,

1978; Navera, 1978; V l a s o f f , 1979; Nag, 1981; Darroch

e t . a l . , 1 9 8 1 ) .

Another measure o f t h e economic c o n t r i b u t i o n o f

c h i l d r e n i s t h e s h a r e of c h i l d r e n ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n i n t h e

fami ly r e s o u r c e s . Kulkarn i (1979) c i t i e s t h e s t a t i s t i c s of

t h e d i r e c t o r a t e of Economics and S t a t i s t i c s o f I n d i a , where

t h e d a i l y wage r a t e of c h i l d r e n were, on t h e a v e r a g e between

Rs.l/- t o Rs.2.50/- i n 1973-74. I n P h i l i p p i n e s , Chi ld ren

c o n t r i b u t e d 22 p e r c e n t of t h e market income o f t h e fami ly ,

32 p e r c e n t o f f u l l income when school t i m e i s valued

(Quizon, 1978) . Goldin and Parsons (1985) o b s e r v e t h a t i n

t h e l a t e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y U.S. , c h i l d l abour p rov ided 24 p e r c e n t

of f a m i l y income among t e x t i l e f a m i l i e s a s opposed t o o n l y

seven p e r c e n t i n n o n - t e x t i l e f a m i l i e s . Mamdani (1972)

conc ludes , i n r u r a l Punjab c o n t r a c e p t i v e use was v e r y low

because p a r e n t s enjoyed a n e t t r a n s f e r of wea l th from

c h i l d r e n .

Thus, c h i l d r e n t o make p o s i t i v e economic

c o n t r i b u t i o n , a t l e a s t i n p e a s a n t s o c i e t i e s and p a r e n t s do

c o n s i d e r t h e monetary rewards from c h i l d r e n i n fami ly s i z e

d e c i s i o n s . The n e t economic c o n t r i b u t i o n , whether measured

i n t e rms of l abour f o r c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o r e a r n i n g s o r hours

o f work of c h i l d r e n , i s p o s i t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h

f e r t i l i t y .

Old Age S e c u r i t y and Demand f o r Chi ld ren

P a r e n t s concern a b o u t t h e i r s e c u r i t y d u r i n g o l d

a g e i s one of t h e s t r o n g motives f o r demanding own c h i l d r e n .

S i n c e sons u s u a l l y have t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of c a r i n g f o r

p a r e n t s d u r i n g t h e i r o l d a g e , p a r e n t s may wish t o have e x t r a

' i n s u r a n c e ' s o n s s imply t o g r a n t e e t h a t a t l e a s t one w i l l be

a b l e t o meet t h e i r needs. I n t h e absence of w e l l o rgan ized

f i n a n c i a l marke ts , s o c i a l s e c u r i t y and o l d age pens ion

sys tems , and l a c k of a l t e r n a t i v e s o u r c e s f o r t h e o l d a g e

s u p p o r t , c h i l d r e n a r e t h e only s o u r c e of s e c u r i t y f o r many

poor p a r e n t s t o w i t h f o r i n s e c u r i t y a r i s i n g from o l d age

d i s a b i l i t y .

Although L e i b e n s t e i n (1957)- yecognized t h a t t h e

' u t i l i t y from t h e p e r s p e c t i v e c h i l d a s a p o t e n t i a l source of

s e c u r i t y e i t h e r i n o l d age o r o t h e r w i s e , ( ~ 1 6 1 ) ~ micro

economic t h e o r i e s seldom i n c o r p o r a t e d t h e o l d age

c o n s i d e r a t i o n s i n t h e a n a l y s i s of t h e demand f o r c h i l d r e n .

In a w e l l known paper , Neher (1971) improved upon t h e two

g e n e r a t i o n Samuelson (1958) model, by expanding it t o t h r e e

g e n e r a t i o n s ( c h i l d h o o d , adul thood and r e t i r e m e n t ) . Willis

(1978, 1 9 8 0 ) , a t t e m p t i n g t o amend t h e Neher model t o f i t

more c l o s e l y t o t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l and o t h e r c o n d i t i o n s of

l e s s developed c o u n t r i e s , succeeded i n demonstrat ing t h a t

t h e s e c u r i t y motive would be s u f f i c i e n t t o make h i g h

f e r t i l i t y r a t i o n a l , from t h e extended f a m i l y p e r s p e c t i v e and

assuming t h a t c h i l d r e n a r e t h e on ly p o s s i b l e s t o r e of

a s s e t s .

Chernichovsky (1975, 1982) a p p l i e d a modif ied

v e r s i o n of t h e Becker model t o I n d i a n v i l l a g e d a t e , t o

i n v e s t i g a t e and test t h e b e h a v i o u r a l i m p l i c a t i o n s of t h e

no t ion t h a t t h e p a r e n t s ' f e r t i l i t y and investment i n

c h i l d r e n ' s human c a p i t a l d e c i s i o n s a r e motivated by

investment, savings and insurance considerations. The

empirical result shows that in agricultural settings, the

capital market does not facilitate low cost temporal

transfer of consumption and the extended household is one

conunon institution in which intra-generational support

manifests itself. Likewise, allowing consumption in old age

to depend not only on transfers from children, but also on

the probability of having land, Devany and Sanchez (1979)

found for Mexico, that the ejido system of granting land

creates a series of pronatalist incentives.

Recent works by Nugent (1985) and Nugent et.al.

(1983) extended the time allocation framework to old age

security considerationd. They argue that old age is an

important concern in rural areas of LDCs because in such

areas there is a dearth of i) reliable assets that can be

accumulated and subsequently deaccumulated during old age;

ii) old disability insurance; and iii) markets for some of

the goods and services that older people require for

survival (Nugent and walther, 1983; Nugent and Gil laspy,

1983). Malaysian and Indian data provide support for the old

age security motive of the demand for children

(Kanbargi.~.1985).

Another i n t e r e s t i n g and r e l e v a n t development i s

t h e t r e a t m e n t of c h i l d r e n a s an i n s u r a n c e a g a i n s t r i s k s and

u n c e r t a i n t i e s . I n a world of u n c e r t a i n t y , c h i l d r e n a r e

viewed a s t h e most r i s k f r e e means by which p a r e n t s p r o t e c t

themselves a g a i n s t d i s a s t e r s , s i c k n e s s and o l d age

d i s a b i l i t y (Ca in l i 8 3 ; Entwis le and Winegar den, 1984;

K o t l i k o f f and Spivak, 1981) . I f c h i l d r e n a r e c e n t r a l t o

p a r e n t s r i s k minimizing s t r a t e g y , l a r g e f a m i l i e s w i l l be

h i g h l y va lued , because demanding more from each c h i l d i s

d i f f i c u l t when t h e r e a r e f e d c h i l d r e n (Bernheim e t . a l . ,

1985) . Within fami ly (and m a r r i a g e ) i m p l i c i t r i s k s h a r i n g

arrangements c a n s u b s t i t u t e f o r more t h a n 70 p e r c e n t f o r a

complete a n n u i t y market , i n pool ing t h e r i s k of d e a t h

( K o t l i k o f f and Spivak , 1981) .

An i m p o r t a n t and r u r a l o r i e n t e d e m p i r i c a l s tudy on

r i s k i n s u r a n c e motive i s Cain (1981) . Cain d e f i n e s r i s k a s

'an e v e n t t h a t t h r e a t e n s normal consumption s t r e a m s ' ( p

4 3 5 1 , and i n t e r p r e t s , t h e ' d i s t r e s s s a l e ' of l a n d , i . e . , t h e

s a l e of l a n d f o r t h e purpose of s a t i s f y i n g b a s i c consumption

needs a s an i n d i c a t o r of t h e f a i l u r e o r inadequacy of

i n s u r a n c e mechanisms. He observes from t h e micro l e v e l d a t a

from I n d i a and Bangladesh, t h a t t h e l e v e l of r i s k i s v e r y

high and t h e mechanisms of ad jus tment t o r i s k a r e

i n e f f e c t i v e and t h e i n s u r a n c e v a l u e of c h i l d r e n a c t s a s a n

o v e r r i d i n g i n c e n t i v e f o r uncons t ra ined f e r t i l i t y . Also he

a r g u e s i n f a v o u r of t h e s t r o n g r e l a t i o n s h i p between, l and

owner s h i p , s i z e of h o l d i n g s and o t h w v a l u e of a s s e t s w i t h

c h i l d r e n overborne (Cain , 1986) . But some arguments f a v o u r s

t h a t f e r t i l i t y h a s been f a i r l y c o n s i s t e n t l y independent of

i n c r e a s e d economic p r e s s u r e s , and has n o t r i s e n i n response

t o i n c r e a s e d economic r i s k t h a n s o c i a l r i s k . Caldwell

e t . a 1 . , ( 1 9 8 6 ) a l s o o b s e r v e s t h a t i n Rura l I n d i a t h e

fundamental c o n s i d e r a t i o n s were t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e a b i l i t y of

t h e fami ly t o w i t h s t a n d p e r i o d i c c r i s i s . Wi lds in , D.(1984)

concludes from t h e s tudy based on Taiwan, where non- c h i l d

o l d age s u p p o r t s have l a r g e l y r e p l a c e d c h i l d r e n and where

f e r t i l i t y downtrends might occur . Genera l ly , couples p r e f e r

more c h i l d r e n f o r p h y s i c a l p r o t e c t i o n , p h y s i c a l c a r e , o r

household c h i l d l a b o u r economic c o n t r i b u t i o n s t a k i n g p l a c e

b e f o r e o l d age.

Thus o l d a g e s e c u r i t y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a r e i m p o r t a n t

f o r p a r e n t s , and i n o r d e r t o i n s u r e a g a i n s t o l d a g e

d i s a b i l i t y , p a r e n t s demand more c h i l d r e n , i n t h e absence of

a l t e r n a t i v e mechanisms such a s f i n a n c i a l markets o r s o c i a l

s e c u r i t y measures , t o s u p p o r t them ( H o h . e t . a1 . ,1986) .

Fertility and other Household Behaviour

Elaborations of the new home economics,

reinterprets family as multi-dimensionah bringing in other

aspects of household behaviour, along with fertility. Since,

the amount of work done in these areas is so vast, we refer

only some important examples to point out the main

development.

Fertility and Quality of Children

One such extension is to treat 'child quality',

which Becker (1960) measured by the level of expenditure per

child, as equal to child quantity in providing utility.

Willis (19731, Detray (1973) and Becker and Lewis (1973)

show that, assuming child quality is also produced according

to the household technology, variations in the household

choices of the quantity and quality of children caused by

changes in income or the cost of mother's time induces

endogenous changes in the marginal cost of the number and

quality of children. Under the quantity, quality trade-off

frame work, it has been suggested that the income elasticity

of child quality exceeds that of quantity and the price

elasticity of quantity exceeds that of quality; and hence

p a r e n t s who d e s i r e more ' b e n e f i t s ' from c h i l d r e n may o p t f o r

fewer c h i l d r e n who a r e more educa ted (Det ray , 1973) .

Empi r ica l s t u d i e s confirm a c o n s i s t e n t n e g a t i v e t rade-of f

f o r most of t h e developed c o u n t r i e s (Det ray , 1984 ; B i r d s a l l ,

1980; Becker, 1981; Tomes, l981) , whereas t h e r e s u l t s a r e nok

s o s t r o n g f o r deve lop ing c o u n t r i e s (Rosenzweig and Evenson,

1977; Makhija, 1980; Behrman and Wolfe, 1983) . Becker and

Tomes (1976) a d d r e s s t h e de te rmina t ion of t h e op t imal

investment i n c h i l d r e n .

A major f i n d i n g i n l e s s developed c o u n t r i e s i s

t h a t most of t h e f a c t o r s t h a t a r e p o s i t i v e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h

f a m i l y s i z e a r e n e g a t i v e l y r e l a t e d wi th c h i l d q u a l i t y and

v i c e - v e r s a (Rosenzweig and Evenson, 1977; Banskota and

Evenson, 1978; Anderson, 1983) . A t f a i f l y high l e v e l s of

fami ly income and female e d u c a t i o n , p a r e n t s demand g r e a t e r

amount of educa t ion f o r t h e i r c h i l d r e n .

Sex P r e f e r e n c e and F e r t i l i t y Determinants

The o l d age s e c u r i t y mot iva t ion of demand f o r

c h i l d r e n mos t ly depends upon t h e o r d e r of b i r t h . E x p l i c i t l y ,

i n t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t i e s of deve lop ing c o u n t r i e s have been

t r i e d by s e v e r a l or thodox f a c t o r s and p r e f e r e n c e f o r sons

over d a u g h t e r s one among them f o r v a r i o u s reasons l i k e o l d

age s e c u r i t y , per forming r e l i g i o u s r i t u a l s , p r e s t i g e i n t h e

s o c i e t y , e t c . Though, t h e reasons a r e v a r i e d f o r son

p r e f e r e n c e , i t s i n f l u e n c e s on demand f o r c h i l d r e n e v i d e n t l y

proved. The e x i s t e n c e of p a r e n t a l p r e f e r e n c e s f o r c h i l d r e n

of a p a r t i c u l a r sex has been w e l l documented i n many p a r t s

of t h e world (Wil l iamson, 1976, Arnold and keo 1984;

Cle land , V e r r a l l and Vaessen, 1983; Freedman and Coombs,

1974) . A p r e f e r e n c e f o r sons i s p e r v a s i v e i n many l e s s

developed c o u n t r i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n r u r a l a r e a s . Sons a r e

o f t e n p r i z e d a s p r o d u c t i v e a s s e t s f o r work on t h e fami ly

farm o r i n a fami ly b u s i n e s s , a s p r o v i d e r s of s e c u r i t y i n

emergencies and i n t h e p a r e n t s o l d a g e and a s conduc ts t o

c a r r y on t h e fami ly name and t o perform v a r i o u s r i t e s of

a n c e s t o r worship.

I t i s o f t e n argued t h a t t h e p reva lence of son

p r e f e r e n c e s a t t i t u d e s i s l i k e l y t o b l u n t t h e s u c c e s s of

fami ly p l a n n i n g programs and t o a c t a s a impor tan t b a r r i e r

so r a p i d f e r t i l i t y d e c l i n e s (Sharma A.K.,1989). According t o

t h i s s t a t e m e n t , couples who have an a b i d i n g p r e f e r e n c e f o r

sons o r f o r a balanced number of s o n s and d a u g h t e r s w i l l

c o n t i n u e b e a r i n g c h i l d r e n a f t e r t h e y have reached t h e i r

i d e a l f a m i l y s i z e i f t h e y have not y e t s a t i s f i e d t h e i r s e x

p r e f e r e n c e s . Number of s t u d i e s i n Asia have reached t h e

conc lus ion t h a t even i n c o u n t r i e s i n which a p r e f e r e n c e f o r

sons i s s t r o n g , i t s e f f e c t on f e r t i l i t y and fami ly planning

i s on ly weak o r a t most moderately 9 t r o n g (De Tray, 1980,;

Arnold, 1985; Repe t to , 1972; Arnold and Lia 1986) . Though i n

r e c e n t y e a r s f e r t i l i t y has dropped p r e c i p i t o u s l y i n s e v e r a l

geographica l a r e a s where p r e f e r e n c e f o r sons i s s t i l l

pronounced ( f o r example, t h e Republic of Korea and China and

Kera la s t a t e i n I n d i a ) . Also, i n t h e o r d e r i n which couples

have sons and d a u g h t e r s can be a f a c t o r i n determining t h e i r

subsequent f e r t i l i t y (Mason and Bennet t 1977; Park, 1978) .

It has been sugges ted t h a t a l though sex p r e f e r e n c e s may no t

have impeded f e r t i l i t y d e c l i n e s s u b s t a n t i a l l y i n many

c o u n t r i e s s o f a r , t h e e f f e c t of sex p r e f e r e n c e may grow a s

t h e average fami ly s i z e c o n t i n u e s t o f a l l (Williamson,

1978) . But Fred Arnold (1987) concludes t h a t , i n g e n e r a l ,

t h e s e x p r e f e r e n c e does not pose a s u b s t a n t i a l b a r r i e r t o

t h e s u c c e s s of t h e fami ly p lanning programs and t h e r e by

f e r t i l i t y .

Female Labour F o r c e P a r t i c i p a t i o n and F e r t i l i t y

The s t e a d y growth of women's p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e

p a i d l a b o u r f o r c e and t h e long te rm d e c l i n e i n f e r t i l i t y

over t h e l a s t c e n t u r y i n t h e wes te rn I n d u s t r i a l i z e d

c o u n t r i e s have been i n t e r p r e t e d by economic h i s t o r i a n s a s

l o g i c a l consequences o f t h e p rocess of economic development

(Gold in , 1990; Mincer, 1 9 8 5 ) . But i n deve lop ing c o u n t r i e s ,

t h e s e r e l a t i o n s have wider v a r i a t i o n s i n t e rms of r e s i d e n c e ,

socio-economic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , and a v a i l a b l e market

o p p o r t u n i t i e s e t c . ( B i r d s a l , e t . a l . , 1 9 8 7 ) .

Gainfu l employment of women o u t s i d e home i s found

t o be i n v e r s e l y r e l a t e d t o f e r t i l i t y ( G e n d e l l , e t . a l . , 1970;

Heer, 1964; Ware, 1976; J o n e s , 1981; Kasarda, 1971; Cynthia ,

1991, Loprea to , e t . a l , 1 9 8 8 ) . I n i t i a l l y , f e r t i l i t y s t u d i e s ,

female l a b o u r f o r c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n was t r e a t e d a s a

d e t e r m i n a n t of f e r t i l i t y (Mincer , 1963; Willis, 1973; Kabi r ,

e t . a l . , 1988) and i n l a b o u r supply s t u d i e s , f e r t i l i t y was

i n c l u d e d a s a exogenous v a r i a b l e (Mincer , 1962; Cain, 1966;

Bowen and Finegan, 1969; Gronau, 1973; Cain and Weininger,

1973; Heckman; 1974, Heckman and Willis, 1977; Smith, 1980;

C a r l i n e r , e t . a l . , 1982) . The work which t a k e s a women away

from t h e home c o n f l i c t s w i t h her c h i l d e a r n i n g a c t i v i t i e s

and i n c r e a s e s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y c o s t of c h i l d r e n . The reason

why t h e employment f e r t i l i t y r e l a t i o n s h i p i s o f t e n

n o n - e x i s t e n t i n some t r a d i t i o n a l o r r u r a l s e t t i n g s a r e s a i d

t o be t h e g e n e r a l absence of such c o n f l i c t s due t o t h e

g r e a t e r p rox imi ty of work p l a c e and home and a v a i l a b i l i t y of

p a r e n t a l he lp . (Conception, 1974; Perk 1975; J a f f e and

Asumi, 1960; S t y c o s and Wel le r , 1967; Wright, 1989; Joekes ,

1989) . Among Niger ian women, Okore (1980) found t h e lowest

f e r t i l i t y among whi te c o l l a r workers , h igher f e r t i l i t y f o r

t h o s e engaged i n farming and t r a d i n g and t h e h i g h e s t

f e r t i l i t y among t h e housewives both i n urban and r u r a l

a r e a s .

Oppong (1985) concludes t h a t work s t a t u s with

mate rna l r o l e e x p e c t a t i o n s and behaviour and t h u s f e r t i l i t y

and l e v e l s of educa t ion w i t h changing maternal v a l u e s ,

g o a l s , c o s t s and c o n s t r a i n t s which u l t i m a t e l y have impacts

on fami ly s i z e d e s i r e s and achievements and c o n t r a c e p t i v e

i n n o v a t i o n .

But among c h i l d r e n working, Perk (1975) observed

t h a t a l a r g e f a m i l y ' s t o t a l income requirements Mason (1981)

t o o , r e p o r t e d a s t r o n g p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between work

and f e r t i l i t y among c e r t a i n e t h n i c groups i n Malaysia ,

conc lud ing t h a t i n a s i t u a t i o n where l a r g e fami ly s i z e

c r e a t e s needs f o r supplementat ion, it i s probable t h a t

mothers w i l l a l l o c a t e t i m e t o income g e n e r a t i o n w h i l e

c h i l d r e n w i l l a l l o c a t e t i m e t o c h i l d c a r e and o t h e r domest ic

t a s k s . What t h e s e a n a l y s e s have not p o i n t e d o u t i s t h a t

f r e q u e n t l y c h i l d r e n themse lves c o n t r i b u t e s u b s t a n t i a l l a b o u r

i n p u t s i n t o home based income earn ing a c t i v i t i e s t o r u r a l

women, i n d i c a t i n g t h a t a l a r g e family may, i n f a c t , be a

p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r women's e n t r a n c e t o and P a r t i c i p a t i o n i n

income e a r n i n g f o r t h e fami ly . (Standing-GI 1978, Simmons,

1988 1.

Besides it i s t h e l e v e l of i n c o m p a t i b i l i t y between

working and non-working, r a t h e r than i t s mere e x i s t e n c e ,

which i s of g r e a t e r s i g n i f i c a n c e i n t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of

employment f e r t i l i t y r e l a t i o n s h i p . The n o t i o n of c h i l d

c a r e / s u p e r v i s i o n a s it e x i s t s i n i n d u s t r i a l i z e d s o c i e t i e s

may n o t be a t a l l v a l i d i n developing count ry s i t u a t i o n s ,

and i s p u r e l y a m a t t e r o f household choice of t h e p a r t i c u l a r

s o c i e t y , r a t h e r t h a n be ing exogenously d e f i n e d f o r a l l

p o p u l a t i o n s . (Mason, 1981; Peek, 1975, Garc ia e t . a l . , 1989) .

Some a u t h o r s a r g u e t h a t women's p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n

independent income e a r n i n g s reduces t h e p e r c e i v e d need f o r

c h i l d r e n , p a r t i c u l a r l y s o n s , a s ' insurance ' a g a i n s t t h e

r i s k s which accompany women's dependence on t h e i r husbands

o r o t h e r male k i n f o r economic s u p p o r t (Cain, 1981;

1982;Chaudhury, 1 9 8 2 ; Dyson and Moore, 19831, b u t t h e

a v a i l a b l e forms of i n s u r a n c e (guaran teed employed, a s s u r e d

easy c r e d i t f a c i l i t i e s , p r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t unlawful and

l i t i g a t i o n s e t c ) a r e l i m i t e d , i f n o t , non-ex is ten t , it i s

argued t h a t h igh f e r t i l i t y i s a s t r a t w y adopted by most

households t o reduce t h e i r v u l n e r a b i l i t y (Cain, 1983;

McNicoll, 1 9 8 0 ) .

Bes ides t h e i r economic v a l u e t o p a r e n t s f o r t h e i r

l abour p o t e n t i a l a s s e t a s o l d a g e s u p p o r t , c h i l d r e n a r e a l s o

s a i d t o r e p r e s e n t v i r t u a l l y t h e only means of i n s u r a n c e

a g a i n s t c r i s i s which a r e r e p e a t e d l y t r i g g e r e d under t h e s e

r i s k prone c o n d i t i o n s . Thus, c h i l d r e n can prove v a l u a b l e i n

t h e space of c r i s i s due t o such e v e n t s a s t h e s i c k n e s s o r

d e a t h of household head, n a t u r a l c a l a m i t i e s f o r c i b l e

e x p r o p r i a t i o n of l a n d , sudden p r i c e f l u c t u a t i o n s , e t c which

may p r e c i p i t a t e and h a s t e n t h e downward m o b i l i t y of

households. F o r women i n such environments , t h e s i t u a t i o n i s

made even more p r e c a r i o u s n o t on ly by t h e i r economic

dependence on men b u t a l s o t h e i r e x c l u s i o n from

o p p o r t u n i t i e s of s e l f s u p p o r t (Greenhalgh, 1 9 8 8 ) .

G a i n f u l employment p r o v i d e s women w i t h a k ind o f

s e c u r i t y a g a i n s t t h e l o s s of f i n a n c i a l suppor t of male k i n

by a s s u r i n g them an independent means of s e l f suppor t . By

g i v i n g women, c e r t a i n d e g r e e of economic independence, it

undermines t h a t r i s k i n s u r a n c e v a l u e of c h i l d r e n , thereby

weakening on of t h e s t r o n g e s t i n c e n t i v e s f o r high f e r t i l i t y

(Ca in , 1981). Drawing on h i s fljeld observa t ions i n

Maharashtra , Cain recommends t h a t guaranteed p u b l i c

employment measures, which need t h e s p e c i a l v u l n e r a b i l i t y of

women, ho ld t h e g r e a t e s t p o t e n t i a l f o r s u b s t a n t i a l f e r t i l i t y

impac ts (Cain 1 9 8 3 ) .

The employment - fe r t i l i ty r e l a t i o n s h i p i s a l s o seen

t o depend upon t h e domest ic s t a t u s of women and t h e n a t u r e

o f c o n j u g a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s (Wel le r , 1958; Youssef, 1982) . I t

h a s been suggested t h a t l abour f o r c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n of women

l e a d s t o a more e q u a l husband-wife r e l a t i o n s h i p which i n

t u r n , i s r e l a t e d t o lower f e r t i l i t y . (Kasarda, 1971;

Chaudhury, 1974). Weller (1986a) observed t h a t p a r t i c i p a t i o n

i n t h e l a b o u r f o r c e by low and middle income group women i n

p u e r t o Rica was a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i n c r e a s e d i n f l u e n c e by t h e

w i f e i n f a m i l y d e c i s i o n making, p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h r e s p e c t t o

hav ing a d d i t i o n a l c h i l d r e n , and t h i s was a s s o c i a t e d w i t h

lower f e r t i l i t y among working women.

I n f a c t , n e g a t i v e a s s o c i a t i o n between employment

and f e r t i l i t y was s t r o n g e r among wife-dominant and

e g a l i t a r i a n couples than among male dominant ones. I n

s tudying urban working women i n Dhaka c i t y . Chaudhury (1978)

repor ted t h a t couples who j o i n t l y dec ided a b o u t t h e number

of s p a c i n g of f u t u r e b i r t h s were -pore l i k e l y t o u s e

c o n t r a c e p t i o n and t o have fewer c h i l d r e n . There have a l s o

been s u g g e s t i o n s supported by evidence t h a t b i r t h r a t e s a r e

lower when women make d e c i s i o n s about t h e i r own f e r t i l i t y

and have t h e means t o implement t h e s e d e c i s i o n s .

I n many deve lop ing s o c i e t i e s , t h e low s t a t u s of

women, b o t h c o l l e c t i v e l y and i n d i v i d u a l l y , has commonly been

a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e i r s e g r e g a t i o n from ' p r o d u c t i v e work' and

consequence dependence on men f o r economic suppor t . A s such ,

independent income g e n e r a t i o n may be t h e necessary average

f o r women f o r g a i n i n g some c o n t r o l over t h e u s e of f a m i l y

income, o r a t l e a s t over t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n t o i t , and of

f r e e i n g themse lves from t h e burden of economic dependence on

men. C o n t r o l over fami ly income is i n v a r i a b l y accompanied by

a h igher s t a t u s and v a l u e w i t h i n t h e home implying ( F o l b r e ,

1988, Horney et .a1. ,1988; S c h u l t z , 1989; Sen, 1990) . t h e r e

i s some e v i d e n c e , even from c e r t a i n South Asian C o u n t r i e s ,

which i n d i c a t e t h a t when women d i r e c t l y p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e

' p r o d u c t i v e p r o c e s s ' , e i t h e r on t h e f a m i l y farm o r i n

o u t s i d e wage en!ployment, t h e y have a l e s s s u b o r d i n a t e

p o s i t i o n r e l a t i v e t o men t h a n women who depend e n t i r e l y on

t h e e a r n i n g s of t h e i r employed husbands (Welson, 1979;

R a h a n , 1986) . Thus t h e much h i g h e r r a t e s of con t racep t ion

u s e among poor employed women both i n r u r a l and urban a r e a s ,

may, i n f a c t , be a r e f l e c t i o n of t h e i r more a c t i v e r o l e i n

d e c i s i o n making, p a r t i c u l a r l y regard ing t h e i r c u r r e n t

f e r t i l i t y behaviour and f u t u r e d e s i r e s f o r a d d i t i o n a l

c h i l d r e n . (Rehman, 1986; Marum, 1982; Chaudhury, 1978).

Some of t h e s t u d i e s ev idence t h a t t h e d u r a t i o n of

work i t s e l f i s a s i g n i f i c a n t de te rminant of t h e use of

fami ly planning methods, t h e argument being t h a t t h e longer

d u r a t i o n of a women's work, the l i k e l y hood of c u r r e n t

c o n t r a c e p t i v e use.

C o n t r a c e p t i v e Revalence

I n t h i s s e c t i o n an a t tempt has been made t o review

some of t h e s t u d i e s r e l a t i n g t o c o n t r a c e p t i v e preva lence and

f e t i l i t y behaviour . The fami ly p lanning p r a c t i c e s has been

proved e f f e c t i v e l y i n f e r t i l i t y reduc t ion . There a r e v a r i o u s

f a c t o r s i n f l u e n c i n g on fami ly p lanning adoption o f t h e

households. Such a s b e t t e r p h y s i c a l a m e n i t i e s , mass media

exposure, g r e a t e r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n l o c a l v o l u n t a r y

o r g a n i s a t i o n and o t h e r development p r o g r a m e s ( Je jeebhoy ,

e t . a l 1989a) , educa t ion ( S a r k a r , 1989) f a m i l y ' s economic

s t a t u s ( J e j e e b h o y , e t . a l 1989b) and female a g e a t marr iage

(Zachar iah , 1 9 8 4 ) e t c . I n I n d i a , t h i s reasons a l s o v a r y

widely among t h e d i f f e r e n t s t a t e s b u t c o n t r a c e p t i o n and

s t e r i l i z a t i o n have gained accep tance and f e r t i l i t y v a r i e s by

community and by t h e l e v e l of e d u c a t i o n of w i f e and, t o a

l a s s e r e x t e n t , t h a t of h e r husband. I t i s hypothesized t h a t

w h i l e t h e a c t u a l c o n t r a c e p t i v e p r e v a l e n c e r a t e might reach

6 0 p e r c e n t by t h e year 2 0 0 0 i n s t a t e s l i k e K e r a l a ,

Maharastra and Tamilnadu of t h e f a m i l y planning e f f o r t i s

s u s t a i n e d and i f r e l e v a n t s o c i a l changes t a k e p l a c e , t h i s

l e v e l might no t b e reached by t h e s t a t e s l i k e , B i h a r ,

Ra jas than and U t t a r Pradesh, where t h e program i s weak and

l i t t l e s o c i a l , economic and i n s t i t u t i o n a l change i s t a k i n g

p l a c e ( S r i k a n t a n , 1989) . The r u r a l - u r b a n d i f f e r e n t i a l s a r e

very c l e a r i n t h e a d o p t i o n of f a m i l y planning e s p e c i a l l y i n

deve lop ing c o u n t r i e s w i t h o t h e r f a c t o r s l i k e educa t ion e t c .

(Makani.B, e t . a l , 1985) .

Though, t h e couple p r o t e c t i o n i s r a t e i m p r e s s i v e ,

a d o p t e r s f e e l some inconvenience. A r e c e n t s tudy conc ludes

t h a t , among t h e a l l methods of f a m i l y p lanning comples

p r e f e r mainly I U D t h a n s t e r i l i s a t i o n because of t h e f e a r n e s s

and lack of follow-up se rv ices and most of t h e I U D users

found discontinued t h e use of method t o problem which nay be

due t o two poss ib le ways t h a t ( i ) improper inse r t ion by

medical and para medical personnel (ii) physiological nature

of t h e adopters (Chacko, e t a l , 1990). The main reasons have

been found out by a study f o r t h e non-acceptance of

Temporary method a r e lack of awareness of temporary method.

The f a c t t h a t only a very neg l ig ib le percentage of wives had

exposure t o I U D , Nirodh and o r a l p i l l s a f t e r marriage.

(Sethurathinam e t . a l , 1990). Apart from above mentioned

reasons, t h e r e a r e another p o s s i b i l i t i e s t h a t sex

composition and in fan t and ch i ld morta l i ty a l s o w i l l

inf luence t h e adoption of family planning adoption

(Ramanujam. e t . a l , 1990).