Differential fertility in peasant communities: A study of Six Iranian Villages

Summary

This paper attempts to study the relation between socio-economic status and fertility in a sample of six villages in Iran. An index of socio-economic status was constructed. The data reveal positive association between socio-economic status and fertility behaviour of rural couples. When duration of marriage, age of woman at marriage and contraceptive use were introduced into the socio-economic status-fertility relationships, they failed to alter the original findings. Because socio-economic status is related to a number of variables which directly or indirectly influence fertility, additional variables such as miscarriage, stillbirth and lactation must be incorporated into rural surveys on fertility differentials.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ismail Ajami

The fieldwork of this research was financially supported by the Iranian Research Council. Computation, analysis of the data, and writing up of the final report were carried out while the author was on his sabbatical leave at the Duke University Center for Demographic Studies supported by a Population Council research grant. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Professor George Myers for his comments, to Dr William Yee for his advice on programming problems and his critical suggestions for revision, and to Mr Amit Mitra for his valuable computer programming assistance.