The Determinants of Reproductive Change in Bangladesh: Success in a Challenging Environment

Abstract

Demographic trends have taken many surprising forms over the last 30 years, but none have aroused such surprise, even incredulity, as recent events in Bangladesh. Although this country remains one of the poorest and least developed of all nations, there is mounting evidence of a steep decline in fertility. Fertility transition in such settings as China, Indonesia, and south India has already demonstrated that high material living standards are not a necessary precondition for a fall in birth rates. Yet in these cases alternative explanations were readily available; high levels of adult literacy in south India, for instance, and the prior creation of powerful nonfamilial welfare institutions in China. Bangladesh, in contrast, appears to possess no features that are conducive to fertility decline, except for a strong, persistent government commitment to reducing population growth. The aim of this volume are threefold. First, it documents with maximum precision the timing, magnitude, and nature of fertility change. Having established the demographic facts, the second aim is to assess alternative explanations. Of necessity, the explanatory net has to be widely cast because there are so many possible influences on human reproduction; nor is it desirable to cling to any specific theoretical position. The volume proceeds to review social and economic changes and their possible links to reduced demand or need for children. It focuses on shifts to consideration of the role of the family planning program in reducing fertility. Thirdly, its aim is to spell out the implications of the analysis for future population policy and programs.