| Natural intentions: Fertility decline in the
African Demographic and Health Surveys |
| Authors: |
Hanks, J.J. |
| Source: |
American Journal of Sociology, Vol 112, Num 4, Page: 1008-1043 |
| Topic(s): |
Fertility
|
| Country: |
Africa
Multiple African Countries
|
| Published: |
SEP 2007 |
| Abstract: |
Many recent models of society treat certain forms of action as revealing
individual intentions, aspirations, or preferences. For example,
formal models of fertility decline following Henry and Coale
take specific childbearing distributions to indicate “natural fertility,”
where couples take no intentional action to manage their reproduction.
This article argues that this mode of inference can be valid
only when the cultural repertoires that mediate between intentions
and actions are well established. Using data from 18 African countries,
the author compares women’s self-reported intentions to those
attributed to them under standard demographic models and finds
significant discrepancies. The link between intentions and outcomes
is itself a social product. |
|