Showing papers in "Sojourn in 1988"
TL;DR: It is surmised that the fall in fertility in Burma may be a first-level and benign response of a more literate and hence more informed population to rising aspirations and the inability of the economy to accommodate these aspirations.
Abstract: A comparison of the 1973 and 1983 censuses provides ample evidence of a decline in fertility in Burma [Myanmar]. The proportion of children in the population fell substantially in the ten-year period accompanied by a significant increase in the mean age at marriage as indicated by the higher female...mean age at marriage. An analysis of the regional variations in population density indicates inter-regional movement of population. While there is marked success in the literacy programmes as indicated by the sharp reduction in the prevalence of illiteracy especially among the females changes in the industrial and occupational structure of the labour force suggest worsening economic conditions. Under these circumstances it is surmised that the fall in fertility without any concerted government policy for inducing such a decline may be a first-level and benign response of a more literate and hence more informed population to rising aspirations and the inability of the economy to accommodate these aspirations. (EXCERPT)
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