A multilevel analysis of fertility behavior in Korea.

Abstract

This analysis of the socioeconomic determinants of fertility behavior in Korea develops a model that simultaneously considers both individual and community-level differences. The model includes 3 fertility process components: onset early fertility and later fertility which are defined by reference to maternal age. The analysis traced the effects of respondents education and childhood residence through their intermediate consequences for work experience before and after marriage husbands education and occupation current residence childhood mortality and sex composition of offspring. The data were derived from the 1974 Korean National Fertility Survey. The results of this analysis indicate that socioeconomic development results in increased age at 1st birth and reduced number of children. Socioeconomic development is accompanied by desires for smaller family size creating the conditions for fertility decline even in the absence of a national family planning program. The results for early fertility supported the hypothesis that there would be no effect of employment in the modern sector before marriage on fertility before age 30 years in traditional contexts but a positive effect in transitional contexts. Aside from age at 1st birth none of the micro coefficients were statistically significant in explaining the early fertility model. For later fertility the relationships between micro and social context variables were negative as hypothesized but dampening effects of development due to family planning were not detected. Childhood residence played a small role in explaining fertility measures but womens education did not work either additively or interactively.