Urbanization and the fertility transition in Ghana

Abstract

This paper examines the way in which migration and urban residence operate to alter fertility outcomes. While urban-rural fertility differentials have long been established for most developing societies, the nature of these differences among migrants and between migrants and those of succeeding generations is not well understood. The evidence presented here suggests that rural-urban migration and urbanization may contribute positively to processes of fertility transition. Using data from the 1998 Kumasi Peri-Urban Survey, which included a 5-year retrospective monthly calendar of childbearing, we suggest that migrants adapt quickly to an urban environment. Our results also reveal generational differences in recent and cumulative fertility. While migrants exhibit higher cumulative fertility than urban residents of the second and third generation, their fertility is significantly lower than rural averages in Ghana. Children of migrants exhibit childbearing patterns quite similar to those in higher-order generations. Most noteworthy is the nature of the disparities in childbearing patterns between migrants and the succeeding generations. Migrant women have higher lifetime fertility than urban natives. Migrant women also exhibit higher fertility over the last 5 years than second generation or high-order urban natives. But these first generation women exhibit lower fertility (vs. urban natives) for the year immediately prior to the survey. These patterns lend support to an interpretation that combines rather than opposes theories of selectivity, disruption, adaptation and socialization. We conclude by discussing mechanisms that might explain these interrelated processes of fertility adjustment and suggest that policies discouraging rural-urban migration need to be revisited.

Imbalance in Life Table: Effect of Infant Mortality on Lower Life Expectancy at Birth

“…This is due to fluctuation in infant mortality rate [15][16][17][18]. Similar pattern may also be observed in Matlab HDSS in last decades; IMR fluctuated for several times, which is also reflected in the difference of e 0 and e 1 .…”

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

“…A substantial body of accumulated research based on census and survey data links migration with fertility and family maintenance (Goldstein and Goldstein 1981, Stephen and Bean 1992, Brockerhoff and Yang 1994, White et al 2005. Some studies have considered the impact of migration on fertility Pol 1985, Jensen andAhlburg 2004) and the impact of fertility on migration (White, Moreno, andGuo 1995, Yang 2000), as well as the presence of a non-causal association between the two, rooted in their shared association with other factors that influence both outcomes (Macisco, Weller and Bouvier 1969, Ribe and Schultz 1980, Schultz 1988.…”

The Components of Urban Growth in Developing Countries

“…For our purposes, the implications would be that if city-bound migrants are selected for lower fertility, their five-year fertility rates following migration should be similar to those already living in the city (Chattopadhyay, White and Debpuur 2006;White et al 2005). Alternatively, if lower migrant fertility is mainly driven by assimilation, which occurs over time, and disruptions associated with the move alongside a possible rebound following their arrival might imply that their fertility levels should be closer to the higher rural rates (Jensen and Ahlburg 2004).…”