Natural Resource Availability and Fertility Intentions in Rural Madagascar

• In Event: 231 - Section on Sociology of Population Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 05. Structural, Environmental, and Cultural Factors Affecting Fertility

Abstract

The environmental dimensions of fertility have received only sparse coverage, although the findings of a handful of studies are provocative and leave room for important progress related to reproductive health and decision-making. In many rural regions of developing nations, rural households remain highly dependent upon local natural resources. As such, resource scarcity may shape desires with regard to family size. While larger families have higher levels of food requirements, they also represent additional human capital. This paper contributes to the emerging literature on fertility-environment connections through analyses of the 2008/2009 Demographic and Health survey for Madagascar, in combination with satellite imagery of vegetation coverage to proxy natural resources. Preliminary findings reveal consistent, strong negative coefficients on measures of natural resource availability indicating that women in regions with high variability tend to have lower fertility intentions. Prior to the ASA, we will refine the analyses by using additional measures of fertility intentions and thoroughly integrate our examination with fertility theory, namely Caldwell's wealth flows. Our preliminary results suggest that children's labor may be particularly relevant in regions with consistent availability of natural capital.

Authors

• Lori M. Hunter, University of Colorado, Boulder

• Adenife Modile, University of Colorado Boulder

• Elizabeth Lawrence, University of North Carolina