The DHS Program

Change in the Desired Number of Children: A Cross-Country Cohort Analysis of Levels and Correlates of Change (English) 

Document Type

Analytical Studies

Publication Topic(s)

Fertility and Fertility Preferences

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Rutstein, Shea O. 1998. Change in the Desired Number of Children: A Cross-Country Cohort Analysis of Levels and Correlates of Change. DHS Analytical Reports No. 9. Calverton, Maryland, USA: Macro International

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Publication Date

July 1998

Publication ID

AR9

Abstract:

Change in a woman's desired number of children is held to be a key determinant in the demand for family planning and the decline in fertility rates. This study is based on results from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and from World Fertility Surveys(WFS) and analyzes data on the amounts and the determinants of changes in fertility by tracking changes in preferences of cohorts of women and changes due to differences between cohorts. The results show that countries do not have to wait to become developed before they can reduce their rates of population growth.