The statistics of birth rate determinants∗

While the main concern of the Journal of Development Studies is with the study of less developed countries, the editors are always interested in papers such as this, and the following article by P. Hampton, which compare regions of a developed country that are themselves at different levels of development, provided that they work (as these do) in such a way as to suggest illuminating analogies for the study of less‐developed countries themselves.

Summary

This paper investigates the effects of various socioeconomic variables on fertility rates, with special reference to the United States. Most of the results are consistent with the earlier cross‐sectional results of Adelman, Drakatos, et. al. More specifically it appears that such socioeconomic variables as age structure, education, per capita income, population, density, and urbanization influence birth rates in both developing and developed countries. Both linear and logarithmic forms are used to estimate birth rates. In the final portions of the paper an attempt is made to reconcile those cases in which the results were not consistent with some of the earlier findings.

Notes

While the main concern of the Journal of Development Studies is with the study of less developed countries, the editors are always interested in papers such as this, and the following article by P. Hampton, which compare regions of a developed country that are themselves at different levels of development, provided that they work (as these do) in such a way as to suggest illuminating analogies for the study of less‐developed countries themselves.

Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Work on this article was supported by a grant from the University of Missouri under their Faculty Summer Research Fellowship Program.

The author is indebted to Arthur Hazlewood and Michael Lipton for many valuable suggestions and comments. The remaining shortcomings are, of course, the author's own responsibility.