| Chapter 2: | Background and Theoretical Development |
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in fertility levels in a society (Freedman, Khoo, & Supraptilah, 1981; Hugo, Hull, Hull, & Jones, 1987; Warwick, 1986).
Coale (1973) suggested three preconditions for a subsequent fertility decline: (a) the acceptance of calculated choice as a valid element in marital fertility, (b) the perception of advantages from reduced fertility, and (c) knowledge and mastery of effective techniques of birth control. According to Coale, although the societal changes that produce mortality declines may directly influence fertility decline, they will do so only if the three preconditions exist. Coale's indexes of fertility introduced the advantage of making historical comparisons of fertility levels. According to Coale, the overall index of fertility (If) is the product of proportion of married female population (Im) and the index of marital fertility (Ig), and it is denoted as follows:
The index of marital fertility is calculated as the ratio of marital fertility in a particular population to the marital fertility rates of the Hutterite population. Hutterites are Anabaptist religious group who used to live in the northern parts of the United States and the western parts of Canada and primarily engaged in agricultural activities (Weeks 1994).
In addition to structural theories on fertility there are several economic theories to explain fertility. In the following section we review the major economic theories used to explain fertility change.
Major Economic Theories of Fertility
The economic framework is one of the dominant explanatory paradigms in fertility and family planning studies. It originated