Effects of marital status on the fertility of rural-urban and urban-rural migrants
Ritchey, P.N.
Rural Sociology 38(1): 26-35
1973
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-0112 Document Number: 207864
Among white, married women 20 to 44 years of age, rural-urban migrants have only slightly higher fertility than that of indigenous urban women, which slightly increases the rate of population growth in urban areas. Urban-rural migrants, on the other hand, have lower fertility than indigenous rural women and consequently serve to lower the growth rate in rural areas. The relative effect on growth rates at place of destination is greater for urban-rural than for rural-urban migrants. Proportionately more migrants and less indigenous women bear children. Therefore, when we examine fertility of all women, irrespective of marital status, the childbearing of rural-urban migrants, makes a moderate contribution to increasing the population growth in urban areas. In rural areas, when women's marital status is ignored, the presence of urban-rural migrants sustains the rate of population growth - partially offsetting the lowering effect of the fertility of the rural indigenous women.