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Proximate determinants of fertility in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal: an anthropological case study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

J.L. Ross
Affiliation:
Division of Medical Genetics, Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
J. Blangero
Affiliation:
Division of Medical Genetics, Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
M. C. Goldstein
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
S. Schuler
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Summary

This article employs the analytical model of Bongaarts and Potter to compare the proximate determinants of fertility among three populations in Nepal's Kathmandu valley with the following characteristics: (1) high and low caste, (2) urban and urban fringe residence, and (3) users and non-users of contraception. It is shown that while Nepal, as a whole, is firmly entrenched in Phase 1 of the fertility transition, each of the populations studied has begun to experience a demographic transition to different degrees. In fact, greater progress in controlling fertility has been made than previously known.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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