Pienta, Amy Mehraban, Jennifer S. Barber, and William G. Axinn. 2001. “Social Change and Adult Children’s Attitudes toward Support of Elderly Parents: Evidence from Nepal.” Hallym International Journal of Aging 3(2):211-235.
Social Change and Adult Children’s Attitudes toward Support of Elderly Parents: Evidence from Nepal
Mass Education and Fertility Transition
Publication Abstract
Axinn, William G., and Jennifer S. Barber. 2001. “Mass Education and Fertility Transition.” American Sociological Review 66(4):481-505.
The relationship between the spread of mass education andfertility-limiting behavior is examined. Existing theories relating education to fertility limitation are integrated, including those relating the presence of educational opportunity to fertility decline, theories relating women’s education to their fertility behavior, and theories relating children’s education to the fertility behavior of their parents. Using survey data from a sample of 5,271 residents of 171 neighborhoods in rural Nepal, the individual-level mechanisms linking community-level changes in educational opportunity to fertility behavior are tested. A woman’s proximity to a school during childhood dramatically increases permanent contraceptive use in adulthood. This finding is largely independent of whether the woman subsequently attended school, whether her husband attended school, whether she lived near a school in adulthood, and whether she sent her children to school. Strong fertility limitation effects were also found for husband’s education and for currently living near a school. These effects were independent of other education-related measures. The largest education-related effect is for sending children to school.
Social Change, the Social Organization of Families, and Fertility Limitation
Publication Abstract
Axinn, William G., and Scott T. Yabiku. 2001. “Social Change, the Social Organization of Families, and Fertility Limitation.” American Journal of Sociology 106(5):1219-1261.
This paper uses the family mode of organization framework to link together hypotheses relating social change to fertility limitation. Experiences in nonfamily activities are predicted to affect fertility behavior, with the outcome depending on the social, economic, and cultural context. To provide individual-level tests of hypotheses, the paper uses data from a Nepalese community which recently began dramatic family and fertility transitions. The findings show that experiences in nonfamily activities before marriage increase the odds of subsequently adopting fertility limitation in this setting. The evidence also demonstrates the importance of including measures of husbands’ experiences in models of fertility decision.