The proposed research will investigate the social, economic, and policy influences on the long-run declines in fertility in Indonesia and Peninsular Malaysia, with special attention to the relative roles of socioeconomic change and of public programs and policies. Although these two countries have some important cultural similarities, by most demographic and economic measures they are at very different stages of socioeconomic development. Surprisingly, however, the current levels and historical patterns of fertility in these two countries are very similar. The proposed work will use the long time span of household-level information available in the Malaysian Family Life Surveys (MFLS) and the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) to assess the relative contributions to fertility decline of changes in income, mortality rates, earnings opportunities of women, the cost and availability of education, and access to efficient methods of fertility regulation. The analysis will also explicitly investigate intergenerational influences on fertility, which have received attention in some theoretical models, but have received very little attention in empirical studies. The rich MFLS and IFLS micro-level data on demographic, social, and economic variables on more than one generation allow empirical testing of the implications of these intergenerational models. The juxtaposition of the experiences of these two countries that have experienced extensive socioeconomic change over time will allow us to observe how differences in the path or rate of change in demographic and economic conditions influence fertility at comparable levels of development.

Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1993
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Rand Corporation
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Santa Monica
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90401
Frankenberg, Elizabeth; Suriastini, Wayan; Thomas, Duncan (2005) Can expanding access to basic healthcare improve children's health status? Lessons from Indonesia's 'midwife in the village' programme. Popul Stud (Camb) 59:5-19
Thomas, Duncan; Frankenberg, Elizabeth (2002) Health, nutrition and prosperity: a microeconomic perspective. Bull World Health Organ 80:106-13
Frankenberg, E; Thomas, D (2001) Women's health and pregnancy outcomes: do services make a difference? Demography 38:253-65
Beegle, K; Frankenberg, E; Thomas, D (2001) Bargaining power within couples and use of prenatal and delivery care in Indonesia. Stud Fam Plann 32:130-46
Peabody, J W; Gertler, P J; Leibowitz, A (1998) The policy implications of better structure and process on birth outcomes in Jamaica. Health Policy 43:1-13
Lillard, L A; Willis, R J (1997) Motives for intergenerational transfers: evidence from Malaysia. Demography 34:115-34
Peabody, J W; Gertler, P J (1997) Are clinical criteria just proxies for socioeconomic status? A study of low birth weight in Jamaica. J Epidemiol Community Health 51:90-5
DaVanzo, J; Sine, J; Peterson, C et al. (1994) Reversal of the decline in breastfeeding in Peninsular Malaysia? Ethnic and educational differentials and data quality issues. Soc Biol 41:61-77
Peabody, J W; Rahman, O; Fox, K et al. (1994) Quality of care in public and private primary health care facilities: structural comparisons in Jamaica. Bull Pan Am Health Organ 28:122-41
Rahman, O; Strauss, J; Gertler, P et al. (1994) Gender differences in adult health: an international comparison. Gerontologist 34:463-9

Showing the most recent 10 out of 12 publications