Social Class Differentials During Fertility Decline: England and Wales Revisited |
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| Authors: | C. Shannon Stokes Wayne A. Schutjer Rodolfo A. Bulatao |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Population Issues Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802;2. Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802;3. Population, Health and Nutrition Department, the World Bank, Washington, DC, 20433 |
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| Abstract: | This paper reviews the relationship between landholdings and fertility. Two dimensions of land are identified as salient for fertility behaviour: size of operational holdings and land ownership. It is suggested that these two dimensions and the resulting income streams have disparate effects on fertility. Size of holdings is assumed to have a positive influence on fertility due to the greater labour demands of larger holdings, while land ownership is posited to exert a negative long-term effect because of the increase in old-age security associated with the income returns to equity. In addition to these effects on the demand for children, landholding is also thought to influence the supply of children. A systematic review of the literature finds support for the impact of both dimensions of landholding on fertility preferences, contraceptive behaviour, the proximate determinants and fertility. Both the demand and supply of children appear to be influenced by landholdings. The observed regularities suggest the need for further research on this connection, not the abandonment of this line of inquiry. |
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