Estimating optimal expenditures on family planning in developing economies

This paper develops an analytical model of the effect of family planningexpenditures on per capita income. The perspective is that of constrained optimization: a predetermined level of overall development resources is to be allocated to family planning programs and alternative uses in the form of expansion of the generalized capital stock (plant and machinery, education and training, and social infrastructure). The principal functions of the model are power forms, so that an explicit solution may be obtained for the optimal ratio of family planning expenditures to overall development resources. Important insights into the nature of this policy question are derived from consideration of the formula. In addition, tentative numerical estimates of the optimal ratio are presented for several developing economies. These estimates suggest that quite a substantial proportion of overall development resources should be allocated to family planning programs in most developing nations. The paper is concluded with a brief evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of the optimization approach to population policy issues.     

Unmet need for couples: An analytical framework and evaluation with DHS data

While estimates of unmet need continue to be an important measure of the extent of demand for contraception and family planning programs success in developing countries, there are various reservations about the validity of these estimates. For instance, the traditional formulation of the measurement has relied solely on information from women while inferences from the findings are often drawn for couples. As more survey data have become available for both men and women in a number of countries, there is increasing evidence suggesting that husbands' preferences are indeed important determinants of the reproductive behavior of couples. This paper developsan analytical framework for measuring unmet need for couples. The approach: (1) takes a fresh look at the classification of pregnant and amenorrheic women, and (2) incorporates the contraceptive use and fertility preferences of husband and wife in estimating the level of unmet need in six sub-Saharan African countries. Our findings shows that taking these factors into account results in a 50 to 66 percent reduction in the level of unmet need in these countries. The importance of husbands' variables in determining the level of unmet need is clearly evident when examined among fecund couples in which the wife is neither pregnant nor amenorrheic. The implications of these findings for family planning programs and research are discussed.     

颁布、施行人口与计划生育法对人口与计划生育工作的挑战

颁布、施行人口与计生法为加强人口与计生工作提供了法律保障 ,无疑是一件大好事。但是 ,特殊的国情决定了实施人口与计生法会遇到许多困难和问题 ,对人口与计生工作的思路、方法 ,对人口与计生工作的任务、要求 ,对人口与计生工作的作风、工作效率 ,等等 ,都是一种挑战。因此 ,我们必须采取有力措施 ,积极应对这种挑战 ,切实搞好依法管理 ,依法实行计划生育     

Conservation and family planning in Tanzania: the TACARE experience

Community-based distribution (CBD) programs present an alternative way of effectively reaching people in rural areas of developing countries where conventional methods of delivery do not exist or fail. This paper reviews the experience and findings from the Jane Goodall Institute’s (JGI) TACARE program in the Kigoma region of Tanzania. It focuses on the family planning CBD program and its integration within the TACARE program to meet the broader mission of JGI’s conservation efforts. Both qualitative and survey data suggest that the CBD program meets the needs for contraception in participating rural communities and is a complementary and acceptable strategy to ultimately contribute to reduce population pressure on the villages around Gombe National Park.     

Demographic pressure,economic development,and social engineering: An assessment of fertility declines in the second half of the twentieth century

Population Research and Policy Review - Concerns over the prospects of explosive demographic growth led to concerted efforts to engineer fertility reductions in the developing world, while skeptics...     

现行中国计划生育政策对中国人口安全的影响

本文从人口安全的定义出发,简单的分析了我国在发展中所面临的主要人口安全问题,并发现这些问题大部分都与我国的计划生育政策有着密切的关系。简要地阐述了我国现行计划生育政策的发展产生过程和主要内容。结合我国现行的“晚婚、晚育、少生、优生”的计划生育政策和我国主要的人口安全问题,从人口结构和人口素质两个方面,重点分析了我国计划生育政策对人口安全的影响。最后得出结论,要抓住现在的机遇期,调整现行的人口政策,最终实现中国人口与社会、经济、资源以及环境的协调可持续发展。     

对社会主义新农村建设形势下人口计生工作的思考

如何把握社会主义新农村建设的机遇,做好农村人口计生工作,是统筹解决人口问题面临的新课题。本文立足浙江省杭州市的实际情况,对新农村建设形势的人口计生工作作出思考。提出把“建设农村生育文明”作为新农村人口计生工作的战略目标,把深化完善农村“新家庭计划”作为重要载体,把加强农村人口宏观战略研究作为重要任务等主要观点。     

A theoretical framework of collective action for the evaluation of family planning programs

Typically, a family planning program seeks to alter individuals' fertility behavior. The very necessity for the existence of a family planning program presumes that individuals' fertility expectations and behavior are not yet consistent with the objectives of the program. Therefore, some individuals may choose not to cooperate. In this article I establish a theoretical framework for the evaluation of family planning programs by synthesizing the literature on the theory of collective action. Because of the characteristics of collective action — indivisibility and externality — noncooperation (free riding) is bound to occur. Faced with the problem of free riding, a good family planning program should ideally apply selective incentives, localize the costs and benefits, and invest in social capital. The relations among these three factors, cooperation, and fertility are also spelled out.An earlier version of this article was presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Washington, DC, 11–15 August 1990.     

我国农村计划生育利益导向机制的构建——基于子女成本和效用的分析

本文从计划生育政策下我国农村子女效用角度出发,分析了农村计划生育利益导向机制的补偿、激励、导向、保障功能等功能,提出建立利益导向机制的3个角度,即针对计生家庭的父母、子女和整个家庭3部分实施的优惠性的利益机制,指出利益导向机制的优惠措施要具有易获得性、体现地区差异性,并强调利益导向机制要同生育文化一同建设、相互促进。     

困境与出路：对农村计划生育管理中“补锅匠现象”的社会学透视

在农村的计划生育管理中,普遍存在基层干部和计划生育管理者放任甚至希望对象户超生的现象,我们称之为“补锅匠现象”。这一现象产生的原因是多方面的,它不仅损害了党和政府的形象,而且严重破坏了基本国策的执行。要逐步消除这一现象,根本出路在于制度建设。     

贫困地区农村计划生育社会保障的必要性及其途径——以宁夏西海固地区为例

贫困地区人口增长快 ,计划生育工作难度大 ,除了“不孝有三、无后为大”的思想观念以外 ,农村社会保障制度的薄弱与不健全 ,是贫困地区农民“多子多富”“养儿防老”的物质根源。在贫困地区要解决“养儿防老”的现实问题 ,必须建立一种新的社会保障制度———计划生育社会保障制度     

优生优育与我国乡村计划生育

我国的计划生育在取得了重大成绩的同时,也出现了不可忽视的计划生育城乡偏位问题,长此以往,不仅有悖于计划生育,也不利于人口素质的提高,不利于21世纪中国的国际竞争。为此,我国必须尽快制订能体现优生优育的计划生育法,以提高全民族的素质     

The One-Child Policy,Elder Care,and LGB Chinese: A Social Policy Explanation for Family Pressure

ABSTRACT

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people in China consistently report family pressure as the greatest challenge they face in their daily lives. This problem has been explained primarily by highlighting sociocultural factors. While such explanations are important to understanding family pressure, they do not easily lead to actionable policy interventions to relieve it. This article suggests a new way of looking at family pressure by positing a social policy explanation. In particular, it reveals how both the one-child policy and elder care reforms have strong heteronormative biases that negatively and disproportionately affect LGB people, and it explores social policy interventions that may help address them. Beyond the China case, the article seeks to open up new avenues for research into how sexuality could be better accounted for in analyses of social policies and considered in broader discussions on defamilization and welfare state reform.