Indicators of living standards and measurement of the relation between poverty and fertility: The South African example
Schoumaker, B.
Population 54(6): 963-992
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0032-4663 Document Number: 528711
The relationship between poverty and fertility has generated much discussion in the literature on demography and development, but the question of how measurement of this relationship is influenced by the choice of living standards indicator has until now received little attention. While the effect of the choice of indicator for the 'identification' of poor people and in measurement of the relationship between poverty and household size has been clearly established, few researchers have examined this question as it applies in the field of fertility. Based on a survey conducted in South Africa, this article compares the relationship between living standards and the parity of women aged 40-49, using nine living standards indicators and according to place of residence. It is shown that the indicator of the standard of living can have a significant influence on the strength and direction of the relationship observed. An analysis of the disparities between the relationships obtained using different standards of living indicators shows that the main reason for these differences is not that different indicators do not place the same women in the same standard of living quintile, but rather the contrasting fertility of the women in different classes.