patterns of population growth in nepal - Institute for Social and ...

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Socio-economic development may some times
be favourable to higher fertility. One change
that may frequently accompany economic development
is an increase in level of nutrition. The higher
nutritional level of women may increase fecundity
and hence fertility. Similarly, an improvement
in adult mortality will lengthen the duration of
the fertile period of marital union and thus may
increase fertility. The rise in economic level
may enhance the ability of parents to bear the
cost of rearing additional children which may lead
to higher fertility. Fertility rising impact of
socio-economic development, however, is less
pronounced than the fertility reducing impact.
fwlortality:
The mortality effect of socio-economic development
is more clear. Looking into the comparative
and historical mortality patterns, Goldscheider
has observed that "First and most important,
no evidence, historically or comparatively
appears to invalidate the general positive relation
between socio-economic development and mortality
reduction" (Goldscheider, 1971: 122).