Analysis of Latin American Fertility in Terms of Probable Social Classes

Abstract

Theories of demographic change have not paid enough attention to how factors associated with fertility decline play different roles across social classes that are defined multidimensionally. I use a multidimensional definition of social class along with information on the reproductive histories of women born between 1920 and 1965 in six Latin American countries to show the following: the enduring connection between social stratification and fertility differentials, the concomitance of diverse fertility decline trajectories by class, and the role of within- and between-class social distances in promoting/preventing ideational change towards the acceptance of lower fertility. These results enable me to revisit the scope of theories of fertility change and to provide an explanatory narrative centred on empirically constructed social classes (probable social classes) and the macro- and micro-level conditions that influenced their life courses. I use 21 census samples collected between 1970 and 2005 in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Paraguay.

The Neglected Role of Domestic Migration on Family Patterns in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1950–2000

“…The high average fertility of the “Earliest” and “Early‐norm” groups may seem surprising. However, it is worth recalling that these women were born between 1945 and 1965 and lived through the fertility transition, which was a heterogeneous process with class‐specific trajectories and persistent fertility differences across the place of residence and women's socioeconomic status ( Castro Torres 2021; Schkolnik and Chackiel 2004).…”

“…Latin American and Caribbean (LACar) countries have witnessed extensive fertility decline during the second half of the twentieth century ( Castro Torres 2021;Castro-Martín and Juárez 1995;Palloni 1990). The total fertility rate of countries in the region declined from above 6.0 children per woman in 1950 to below 3.5 children per woman by the end of the century (Guzmán 1996;Guzmán et al 2006).…”

“…I build an eight-category typology for women's family trajectories using cluster analysis and compare the distribution of the typology according to women's childhood place of residence, years of schooling, and age at migration jointly in rural areas and large cities. Given the history of urbanization and the socioeconomic disparities between and within rural areas and large cities in the region, the combined use of these variables measures women's social position in LACar social stratification systems ( Castro Torres 2021;Portes 1971Portes , 1989. For example, women who migrated as adolescents from rural areas to a capital city and dropped out of school are likely to work in underpaid, unregulated, and potentially exploitative informal jobs such as domestic service or street sales with little or no opportunity to upward social mobility for them or their families (Casanova 2019;Chanel and Garcia Castro 1989).…”

Power relations and persistent low fertility among domestic workers in Latin America

“…Additionally, fertility and offspring mortality are fundamental parts of biological reproduction, therefore, at the basis of social reproduction (Danna, 2021). However, this approach is not free of challenges, in part due to the existence of hegemonic theories and methods for quantitative data analysis and interpretation (Castro Torres, 2021;van de Kaa, 1996).…”

Second Birth Fertility in Germany: Social Class, Gender, and the Role of Economic Uncertainty

“… 2 In the Latin American context, scholars have also examined the class and fertility nexus (Castro Torres 2021 ). However, instead of relying on occupation-based class concepts, they measured social class using a large battery of variables, including electricity and water supply.…”