Socioeconomic status and fertility in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

SummaryUsing a unique set of birth registration data from the Demographic Surveillance System of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, for the period 1974–77, and socioeconomic information collected in the 1974 census, fertility was studied in relation to occupation, size of dwelling, number of cows and number of boats owned. The total fertility rate was found to vary between 6 and 6·5 except in the famine year of 1975. There was no consistent relationship between fertility and education of women. Fertility differentials by occupation showed that the household heads who were farm labourers had relatively lower fertility compared to other occupational groups, except for the year 1977 where the families of service holders were found to have relatively lower fertility. There was a consistent direct relationship between the dwelling size and fertility for each of the years.

Differential reproductive success within the Krummh�rn population (Germany, 18th and 19th centuries)

“…Recent empirically solid studies reveal socio-ecological correlates of differential reproductive success in humans (e.g., Ajami 1976;Boone 1988;Borgerhoff Mulder 1987b;Crook & Crook 1988;Essock-Vitale 1984;Faux & Miller 1984;Flinn 1986;Hughes 1986;Irons 1979;Kaplan & Hill 1985;Mealey 1985;Shaikh & Becker 1985;Stys 1957;Turke & Betzig 1985). Three general points emerge from these analyses:…”

Longitudinal analysis of deciduous tooth emergence: II. Parametric survival analysis in Bangladeshi, Guatemalan, Japanese, and Javanese children

“…Of 4,743 dates given by parents, 21% fell on the 15th of the month; 41% fell on either the 10th, 15th or 20th of the month. Second, literacy and numeracy in this rural village were quite low at the time of the study (see Shaikh and Becker, 1985). Parents were unlikely to have checked daily for an event like tooth emergence and had they observed that a tooth emerged would have been unlikely, due to the high rate of illiteracy, to record the date with precision.…”

Resources and reproductive success in women with an example from the Kipsigis of Kenya

“…Generally, in rural areas, where access to resources is measured in terms of land ownership, the associations are positive (e.g. Chinese peasants of the 1930s: Lang, 1946; Polish peasantry after World War 11: Stys, 1957;Indian villagers: Driver, 1963; farmers in Punjab, Philippines and 15th century Tuscany: reviewed in Simon, 1974;Iranian villagers: Ajami, 1976; Brazilian and North American pioneers: Merrick, 1978; Javanese and Nepalese peasants: Nag, White & Peet, 1978; Bangladesh farmers: Shaikh & Becker, 1985). In other studies, particularly where access to resources is measured in terms of the husband's occupation, income or capital assets, the relationship between resources and women's reproductive success is less consistent.…”