Rural income-generating programs and fertility limitation: evidence from a microdemographic study in Nepal
Axinn, W.G.
Rural Sociology 57(3): 396-413
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-0112 DOI: 10.1111/j.1549-0831.1992.tb00472.xDocument Number: 322820
Participation in rural development programs that organize members into local cooperative groups can alter the decision-making environment facing couples to reflect some of the negative consequences of childbearing. This study uses data from Nepal, collected through a combination of ethnographic and survey methods, to test the effects of participation in such a development program on fertility behavior. Results demonstrate that program participants are much more likely to use contraceptives to limit their fertility than are non-participants. The study provides empirical support for theories linking this type of institutional change to fertility and indicates a policy option that can allow some negative consequences of childbearing to affect couples' fertility decisions.