This project studies the rapid change in fertility that has occurred in Bangladesh over the past 20 years. The standard demographic theory of population decline says that people have fewer children when their economic situation improves. In this case the economic situation has not improved, yet the population has limited growth through the increasing use of contraceptives. This project will test hypotheses to explain variation in contraceptive use among rural, underprivileged people near Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The project will develop an instrument for assessing economic well-being that is more sensitive to local understandings of poverty and wealth. Focusing on contrasts between couples who use contraceptives and those who do not, the project will employ a mix of qualitative ethnographic methods and quantitative data to provide a picture of local reproductive choice. On the theoretical level, it will be a model to advance the combination of ethnography and local contextual knowledge with extensive, statistically representative survey-based knowledge. On a practical level, it will provide useful information to family planning policy development in Bangladesh, the world's most densely populated country. The new knowledge from this project should be significant in light of the continuing global problem of overpopulation.
