The proximate determinants of fertility

doi:10.1016/0160-791X(87)90003-0

Technology in Society

Volume 9, Issues 3–4, 1987, Pages 243-260

https://doi.org/10.1016/0160-791X(87)90003-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

The proximate determinants of fertility are the biological and behavioral factors through which socioeconomic and environmental variables operate to influence the rate of childbearing in a population. Three biological proximate variables are identified: permanent sterility, the probability of conception, and intrauterine mortality. Although these variables lower the actual rate of reproduction to far below its potential maximum, they contribute little to trends in fertility. Changes over time in fertility are largely due to changes in the behavioral proximate determinants. The most important of these is the prevalence of contraceptive use, but the duration of breastfeeding, the practice of induced abortion, patterns of union formation, and contraceptive effectiveness are or have been major determinants of levels and trends in fertility in most societies.

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^∗: John Bongaarts is Senior Associate at the Center for Policy Studies, The Population Council, and Associate Professor (adjunct), Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University. He holds an M.S. in systems analysis from the Eindhoven Institute of Technology, The Netherlands, and a Ph.D. in physiology and biomedical engineering from the University of Illinois, and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in population dynamics at the Johns Hopkins University. He is the author of four books and numerous articles on population studies.

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