Education and Fertility Transition in Peru: A Cohort Analysis of Women Born between 1936 and 1984

The New Economic Policy (NEP) formulated in 1970 in Peninsular Malaysia had a two-fold aim of reducing poverty and redressing ethnic inequalities in wealth. The spatial bias of development on the west coast where the Chinese concentrate in the urban centres was also addressed. Population planning worked in tandem with NEP to reduce Malay to non-Malay differences in fertility. 1980 census data was evaluated to assess the impact of NEP on fertility transition in the country. Socioeconomic data for specific cohorts (15–24; 25–34 and 35–49) were collected and factor analysed to examine poverty conditions. The study found poverty to be differentiated by ethnicity. “Malay” poverty is high in both absolute (e.g. employment rate and education) and relative terms (as compared to the Chinese). The “Chinese” dimension is the exact opposite. Unfortunately, regional polarisation of wealth remains unchanged, even a decade after NEP. Poverty was regressed against cohort fertility and found to increase with it, especially for the older cohorts. Although NEP reduced fertility among the youngest cohort, its impact was not exceptionally large. The NEP is currently up for review. The apparent failure of the policy to achieve income equity and fertility transition must therefore be taken seriously.

This study examines fertility transition among a population of Jewish immigrants to Israel from Muslim countries of North Africa and the Middle East. The study addresses the impact of socioeconomic factors and culture on the spread of fertility control and birth spacing. Data were obtained from a fertility survey in 1974 and 1975 among a random sample of married urban Jewish women aged 18-54 years. Cohort analysis indicates that Asian-African women in early cohorts during 1940-70 had smaller proportions of ever users of contraception or abortion than European women. Asian-African ever use increased from 70% to 78% between the 1948-51 cohort and the 1964-67 cohort. Fertility declined during 1948-85 among Asian-African women due to a large increase in fertility control at early parities. Asian-African women tended to rely on withdrawal for spacing at low parities. After 1958 European marriage cohorts increased their reliance on pills. Asian-African women steadily increased use of withdrawal until the 1960s; it stabilized thereafter. European women abandoned withdrawal for pill use. Logistic models indicate that Asian and African women aged under 35 years were less likely to have used the pill than Israeli-born women. Pill use was associated with womens educational status and higher socioeconomic status. Women who served in the Israeli military were more likely to have used the pill. Pill use among high-status European and Israeli-born women was associated with socioeconomic and religiosity factors. Pill use among low-status and marginalized Asian-Africans was associated with military service and non-numeracy factors. Culture and military service had an effect only on pill use and not spacing behavior. Findings suggest a decline in importance of ideational factors in explaining behaviors that are already accepted and practiced. Socioeconomic status was important in explaining use of fertility control in all models.