Alaka Malwade Basu

Is Discrimination in Food Really Necessary for Explaining Sex Differentials in Childhood Mortality

In this paper the assumption is questioned that it is the intra-household distribution of food which is an important cause of the observed sex differences in childhood mortality in much of South Asia. An analysis of data from a recent field study as well as a fresh look at information from secondary sources, leads to the conclusion that, at present, the causal link from malnutrition to mortality is ambiguous at best. Other possible real-world determinants of sex differences in mortality are examined and it is found that differential utilisation of modern health care is probably an important such determinant. Finally some of the socio-economic influences on sex discrimination in health care are examined and a case is presented for increasing womens employment outside the home.

Why does Education Lead to Lower Fertility? A Critical Review of Some of the Possibilities

Abstract In spite of close to a quarter century of research and policy interest in the quite uniquely universal negative relation between female education and fertility, the mechanisms behind this relation continue to intrigue and to fascinate. This paper tries to review critically some of the more common mechanisms suggested by the literature and offers a new look at some alternative possibilities.

Girls' Schooling, Women's Autonomy and Fertility Change in South Asia.

This...volume challenges the popular notions that there is a universal and causal relationship between rising levels of schooling and declining levels of fertility and that schooling enhances female autonomy. Presenting primary evidence from India Pakistan Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and utilising existing census and survey data the eleven original papers in this book explore the interrelated issues of womens autonomy girls schooling and fertility reduction in South Asia. The volume concludes that schooling is indeed important for women and should definitely be supported and encouraged but not because of the possible impact it may have on fertility decline. Further that while resources should continue to be devoted to the spread of education this should not be at the expense of providing women-friendly contraceptive and maternal/child health services which give couples the ability to successfully plan the size of the family they want. (EXCERPT)

Spatial Variation in Contraceptive Use in Bangladesh: Looking Beyond the Borders

This article promotes a more complete understanding of social change by analyzing spatial patterns of contraceptive use in Bangladesh and the contiguous state of West Bengal in India. Multilevel analyses that control for variations in individual- and household-level correlates show an important role for cross-border influences only in those districts that share a common language across the border. The districts that are positive outliers in contraception hug the Bangladesh—West Bengal border. A map of outliers shows that the positive outliers form a contiguous band in a manner suggestive of a role for contagion.

Cultural influences on health care use: two regional groups in India.

While health care services are increasingly being seen as a major proximate determinant of decreased mortality in a population, it also seems to be the case that the mere provision of services does not lead to their better utilization. However, in general, it is difficult to explore differences in utilization because the availability of services itself varies so greatly. This report presents the results of a study in India of two distinct regional groups of similar socioeconomic status, residing in the same locality and, therefore, theoretically exposed to the same health services. Both groups share a strong faith in modern medicine (especially if it is obtained from a private practitioner) for the treatment of most common illnesses. However, important cultural differentials exist in the medical services sought for childbirth and in the treatment of morbidity in children of different ages and sexes. These cultural commonalities and differentials are described, their possible causes--primary among these being the status of women--explored, and some policy recommendations made.

Fertility Decline and Increasing Gender Imbalance in India, Including a Possible South Indian Turnaround

This study examined the relationship between fertility decline and increasing gender inequities in the north and south regions of India. Analysis was based on data from the 1991 Census of India the Sample Registration Scheme in 1981 and 1991 and an eclectic collection of macro and micro level information. Birth and death rates varied by religion and socioeconomic status. The south had lower fertility lower child mortality and smaller differences in the sex ratio in child survival. The literature attributes regional differences to kinship patterns and female status hypergamy in marriage in the north the higher status of women in the south and higher son preference in the north. But the sex ratio has risen over time in both the north and south. Fertility decline appears to be influenced by modernization. Tamil Nadu is used as an example of accelerating fertility decline worsening gender differences in survival and greater access to medical technology for sex determination. Tamil Nadu illustrates the devaluing of women as a means of achieving socioeconomic progress. Marriage patterns are changing. Higher socioeconomic groups have had the greatest rise in dowry and anti-female bias. The south has improved female education. The author identifies four fertility regimes: 1) high fertility and high son preference in the north; 2) medium fertility and medium son preference in the south; 3) low fertility and medium son preference in Tamil Nadu; and 4) a possible regime of fertility decline and a stable sex ratio in Kerala.

Ultramodern contraception: Social class and family planning in India

The measured success of family planning policy in the developing world rests on increases in the ‘modern’ methods of contraception. By extension, ‘traditional’ methods of contraception are equated with traditional mentalities and insufficient motivation to control fertility. But contraceptive use differentials in India suggest that in fact it is the most ‘modern’ women (those with a college education and living in urban areas) who are the most likely to use these traditional methods of birth control and to use them very efficiently as well. The paper locates this counter-intuitive preference among urban, educated women in what may be called ‘ultramodern’ attitudes to the body and to modern medicine and tries to situate such modernization in the contemporary developmental paradigm. Finally, the paper implies that population policy and contraceptive research may be unduly attributing contraceptive ineffectiveness to the users of traditional birth control today.

The ‘Politicization’ of Fertility to Achieve Non-Demographic Objectives

Aside from the potential impact of population growth processes on the politics of life perceptions about population growth and the determinants of fertility can play an independent political and policy role. Population research does not only explain the political impact of fertility but can also contribute to the impact through the focus of its research agenda and the ways in which it disseminates its findings. The increasing trend of voicing demographic arguments to achieve nondemographic objectives is due to the following developments: the growing consensus that people in developing countries have much to gain and little to lose by reducing their population growth rates; politicization is helped by the growing evidence that there can be no sweeping explanation for high fertility nor fertility decline; and there is a clear impact of the continuous pressure on demographic research to be policy-relevant and to identify the policy relevance of its findings.

Cultural influences on the timing of first births in India: large differences that add up to little difference.

In this paper I comment on the unexpected finding from primary and secondary data that, although the age at effective marriage is significantly lower in North India compared to the southern part of the country, mothers age at first birth is very similar in both regions. That is, the first birth interval is much longer in the North. Standard socio-economic and biological reasons for this difference are found to provide incomplete and unsatisfactory explanations – instead, the longer first birth interval in North India is explained in terms of the marriage and kinship patterns in this area which lead to (i) lower frequency of intercourse and (ii) long periods of abstinence when the wife visits her parental home. Both these factors operate primarily during the first years of marriage and result in a convergence of the ages at first birth in the two regions. The argument, therefore, questions the correctness of policy prescriptions which equate early marriage with an early start of childbearing, and seek to ...

Ignorance of family planning methods in India: an important constraint on use.

Interviews wih women in six villages in India and with educated, working women selected to be trained as interviewers in five states, and evidence from formal studies are discussed to support the conclusions that (1) the low overall rates of contraceptive use in India are at least partly due to low levels of knowledge about different methods of birth control, especially of the modern reversible methods; and (2) the low use of all methods except sterilization is a good proxy for lack of knowledge about these methods. It is suggested that, both in the interests of achieving demographic targets and in the interests of the clientele of the family planning program, much greater emphasis must be placed on spreading practical information about reversible contraception. The information dissemination activities of the program so far have tended to concentrate on the why of family planning and neglect the how, except in promoting sterilization.