Spatial Patterns of Fertility Transition in Indian Districts

Abstract

The article explores the dynamics of Indian fertility at the district level using a child-woman index developed from the four Indian censuses, 1961 to 1991. It employs statistical and geostatistical techniques to assess fertility change across districts and periods. Fertility decline is evident in every region, but sizable regional differentials exist. A cluster analysis of fertility profiles indicates that a clear spatial pattern of fertility in India has emerged and the pattern intensified because of the process of fertility decline. Copyright 2001 by The Population Council, Inc..

The interrelationship of fertility, family maintenance and Mexico-U.S. Migration

“…The community context in Mexico, as in the United States, plays a fundamental role in the formation of family size ideals, in providing opportunities for family maintenance and socio-economic advancement, and in presenting opportunities for solo and family migration to the United States. Studies of fertility identify reproductive norms and practices in communities of origin as playing an important role in early socialization and in the formation of family size goals (Degraff, Bilsborrow and Guilkey 1997, Guilmoto and Rajan 2001, Kirby, Coyle, and Gould 2001. The emphasis on early socialization does not discount the influence of adult experiences, particularly in migrant destinations, on marital fertility, but rather it underscores the cultural clashes that rural-urban and international migrants experience as they circulate between origin and destination environments (Rundquist and Brown 1989).…”

Demographic Convergence and its Linkage with Health Inequalities in India

“…However, over the past half century, the progress in fertility and mortality decline in India is remarkable (Rele, 1987;Bhat, 1989;Visaria, 2004b;Office of Registrar General of India, 1971McNay et al, 2003;Visaria, 2011). Several past studies, which examined the process of demographic transition in India recognized very few major shifts and concluded that overall demographic trends in India are transitioning from third to the fourth stage of demographic transition (Visaria and Visaria, 1994;James, 1995;Bhat and Rajan, 1997;Dyson, 2004;Guilmoto and Rajan, 2001;Visaria and Visaria, 2003;Visaria, 2004b;Kulkarni and Alagarajan, 2005;Visaria, 2011).…”

“…Total Fertility Rates (TFR) in India are declining with divergent destinies across states, rural-urban and socioeconomic groups (Guilmoto and Rajan, 2001;Visaria, 2004b;James and Nair, 2005;Kulkarni and Alagarajan, 2005;Alagarajan and Kulkarni, 2008;James and Goswami, 2012 expectancy has been in a long uptrend and in the last half of the twentieth century has been characterized as an era of cross-national health convergence (Wilson, 2001), as well as an era featuring rapid economic growth in a number of developing nations (Firebaugh, 2003).…”

“…While years is a significant achievement (Preston, 1980;Rele, 1987;Bhat, 1989;Guilmoto and Rajan, 2001;Visaria and Visaria, 1994;Kulkarni and Alagarajan, 2005). However, changes in fertility across the time scale are not uniform.…”

“…Although, this conception is only a rough generalization, it has such wide applicability that it has become a central axis of conceptualisation about population trends in world (Notestein, 1945;Davis, 1951;Davis, 1963;Sinding, 2001;Dyson, 2004;Caldwell, 2004;Dyson 2010;Casterline, 2011 (Dyson 2010;Van and Knodel, 1980;Bloom and Williamson, 1998;Wilson and Airey, 1999;Wilson, 2001;Wilson, 2011;Bongaarts, 2003;Weeks et al, 2004;Caldwell, 2004;Moser et al, 2005;Doepke, 2005;Dorius, 2008;Dorius and Firebaugh, 2010;Angeles, 2010). A growing number of studies in India had also assessed the trends and transition in population health indicators (Dyson, 2005;Ghosh, 1956;Rele, 1982;Rele, 1987;Dyson, 1989;Bhat, 1989;Bhat, 1997;Bhat et al, 1984;James, 1995, James andNair, 2005;Guilmoto and Rajan, 2001;Visaria and Visaria, 1994;Visaria and Visaria, 2003;Kulkarni and Alagarajan, 2005;Visaria, 2004b;Visaria, 2011 when there is at least 10% decline in fertility which begins an irreversible trend downwards said to be "completed when replacement level fertility levels are achieved" …”