Title: A contextual analysis of rural electrification and its impact on fertility: evidence from Bangladesh.

POPLINE Document Number: 076440

Author(s):

Hoque MN

Source citation:

[Unpublished] 1991. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society, Columbus, Ohio, August 19-21, 1991. [2], 38 p.

Abstract:

The impact of rural electrification and village development on family planning (FP) practices and ideal family size preferences is examined using Bangladesh survey data collected in 1985 from 800 households, 400 with electrical facilities, 200 without electrical facilities from 25 villages with electrical service available, and 200 from 4 villages with no electrical service available. An analytical model composed of household development, electrification, village development, and household demographic indicators was tested using multivariate regression analysis. In recent years the practice of FP in bangladesh has increased considerably as a result of the expansion of FP programs. It has been suggested that technical developments made possible by electricity decrease the need for children to perform household chores, therefore, a decrease in fertility could result. In the attendant socioeconomic development the functions of the family are reduced, the value of children becomes diminished, and the cost of children is increased. Multivariate regression techniques examined differences in fertility-related behavior, comparing electrified and nonelectrified households and electrified and nonelectrified villages. These findings showed that the longer the presence of electricity in the households, the higher is the acceptance rate of FP practice and smaller ideal family size preference. There was clear evidence to the effect that rural electrification and village development significantly and positively impacted FP practices and ideal family size preferences negatively. Although the data suggested that the impact of village-level development variables on fertility-related behavior was greater than the impact of electrification variables, it was also confirmed that in a socioeconomic context it engendered rural electrification impacted fertility-related behavior.

Keywords:

Bangladesh
Surveys
Multivariate Analysis
Modernization
Rural Development
Fertility
Child Worth
Family Planning
Family Size, Ideal
Asia, Southern
Asia
Developing Countries
Sampling Studies
Studies
Research Methodology
Data Analysis
Social Change
Economic Factors
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Microeconomic Factors
Family Size
Family Characteristics
Family and Household