SANEI: Completed Studies: Abstract

Causes of Fertility Decline in India and Bangladesh

The major objectives of the study are:
	To analyse the trends and magnitude and causes of fertility decline in different geographical regions of India and Bangladesh for the last quarter of the century; and
	To understand the importance of the diffusion process in shaping fertility decline in both India and Bangladesh.

The theoretical framework that will be used to understand the fertility transition in this study will be the diffusion process. It is argued that the success of diffusion framework results partly from the failure of other theories especially the demand theories of fertility (Guilmoto and Rajan 1998). The primary concern of the study will be to analyse the process of family planning and to pinpoint the factors responsible for such a diffusion process. In other words, why some groups accept or resist family planning in some districts while the same group in other districts does not. This would enable to see how the process of fertility change has occurred particularly among the poor and illiterate sections of the society. In the process, the study will also try to bring out the importance of regional factors in shaping the fertility transition.

The study will utilise the available data from Census, SRS and National Family Health Surveys in India and Census and Demographic Health Surveys in Bangladesh. In addition to this, the study also intends to collect information from the field using focus group discussions and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method on specific communities and groups to understand the diffusion process.



Download in pdf format