Fertility Decline in Andhra Pradesh : A Search for Alternative Hypotheses

Abstract

IT was once thought that fertility below a level could not be achieved without changes in the material conditions of the people. The classical demographic transition theory and other theories of fertility primarily attempted to capture the conditions necessary for a change in the reproductive behaviour of people. However, the recent revolution in family life" experienced in India in general, and the southern states in particular, is most spectacular and may not necessarily conform to the classical theories on fertility. Of these the decline in fertility in Kerala since 1960s and in Tamil Nadu more recently have been quite dramatic and have attracted wide discussion and debate in the development literature. Understandably, both these states have attained a replacement level of fertility within a short span of time without profound material development. This has steered attention to the search for new development variables that can explain the forces of change on the demographic front. By consensus, one of these is female education.