Family Planning In Order Research Articles

Fertility Policy and Implementation in China, 1986-88

At present China maintains its ambitious goal of not exceeding a population of around 1.2 billion by the year 2000. Given the huge number of women entering the peak childbearing ages during the next decade the attainment of this target requires renewed efforts in family planning. After a period of relaxation in the family planning program since 1986 the national and provincial governments have been tightening up on family planning in order to achieve Chinas goal. Despite changes in leadership and degree of heavy-handedness in enforcement of the one-child policy between the early 1980s and 1988 throughout this period the basic elements of Chinas family planning program have not changed. These elements include: a stated official policy on voluntarism mandatory family planning and contraceptive methods national limits on the number of children per couple and the use of one-child pledges and family planning contracts in policy implementation. (authors) (summaries in ENG FRE SPA)

CONSUMER DEMAND AND MARKETING ACTION PLANS FOR FAMILY PLANNING IN BANGLADESH

Attempts to identify and analyze the demand for family planning in order to facilitate the formulation of action plans directed toward the effective development and expansion of the family planning products market in Bangladesh. A sample of 800 fertile couples was drawn by means of a multistage stratified sampling plan. Demand for family planning is hypothesized to be determined by the following factors: pressure of unwanted children; fecundity of wife; cost of family planning; attitude toward family planning; and family income. An economic analysis can be made of a couples desire for a certain number of children in which children are perceived as economic goods which yield utility to the family but also compete for family resources. These couple characteristics influence the desire for children: education of husband education of wife occupation of husband kinship ties family income sex distribution of children and number of child deaths. A multivariate analysis was performed in order to identify the variables or variable combinations which best explain the structure of family planning demand. Concepts of market segmentation are used to classify couples into meaningful segments based on knowledge attitudes and practices relating to family planning in order to apply differential marketing efforts. Education of wife was the most significant determinant of demand. Only in families in which the wife was uneducated was husbands education important. Thus female education is essential for effecting a structural change in the reproductive behavior of Bangladesh couples. However this is a long term nonmarketing measure and more feasible short term alternatives are suggested.