Fertility and the Household Division of Labor Among the Maragoli of Western Province Kenya: A Pilot Study

这项奖励允许调查人员在肯尼亚进行为期三个月的试点研究。主要目的是检验生育率理论，即考德威尔(1982)的财富流动理论。这一理论假设，人们根据自己对经济和社会责任的认识来规划家庭规模，而经济和社会责任会随着收入水平和接受高级教育和培训的机会而变化。他们的收入越高，他们的培训/教育就越好，他们对家庭的责任就越多地集中在核心家庭而不是大家庭，他们在晚年就越不需要依赖无数的后代来照顾他们。这项研究假设，财富流动理论将比另一种被称为“儿童的经济价值”的模型更好地解释肯尼亚西部省份维亚洛分区的马拉戈利人的人口状况。研究人员将收集时间分配数据和人口统计信息来验证这些假设。自1975年以来，肯尼亚的一位合作者一直在研究该地区，因此这项研究将建立在该社区的纵向数据库基础上。这项研究之所以有价值，是因为更好地了解发展中国家人口增长放缓的原因至关重要。这一试点项目将为实现这一目标提供宝贵的信息。

This award allows the investigator to do a three month pilot study in Kenya. The primary goal is to test a theory of fertility, namely Caldwell's (1982) wealth flows theory. This theory posits that people plan their family size in response to their appreciation of their economic and social responsibilities, which change with their level of income and access to superior education and training. The higher their income, the better their training/education, the more their responsibilities towards family focus upon the nuclear rather than the extended family, and the less they need to rely upon numerous offspring to look after them in their old age. The research hypothesizes that wealth flows theory will explain the demographic situation among the Maragoli of Viyalo Sublocation, Western Province, Kenya better than an alternative model known as the "economic value of children" perspective. The researcher will collect time allocation data and demographic information to test these hypotheses. The area has been studied by a Kenyan collaborator since 1975, so this research will build on a longitudinal data base for this community. This research is valuable because improved understanding of the causes of lowered population growth in the developing world is of critical importance. This pilot project will yield valuable information towards that goal.