Title: Female autonomy and reproductive behaviour in Kerala: new evidence from the recent Kerala Fertility Survey.

POPLINE Document Number: 252164

Author(s):

Rajan SI
Ramanathan M
Mishra US

Source citation:

In: Girls' schooling, women's autonomy and fertility change in South Asia, edited by Roger Jeffery and Alaka M. Basu. New Delhi, India, Sage Publications, 1996. :269-87.

Abstract:

"We argue...that low fertility or mortality [in Kerala, India] cannot be a result of the higher level of autonomy among its women (since that predates the declines in fertility and mortality) unless this autonomy has also been increased by any of the other changes which took place in Kerala during the past 50 years. We therefore need to examine the levels of female autonomy among women in Kerala using a known set of indicators. Our data come from the [1991] Kerala Fertility Survey (KFS)...." (EXCERPT)

Keywords:

India
Fertility Determinants
Mortality Determinants
Women's Status
Power
Social Change
Reproductive Behavior
Women
Asia, Southern
Asia
Developing Countries
Fertility
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Mortality
Socioeconomic Factors
Economic Factors
Political Factors