The relation of economic class and fertility: An analysis of some Indonesian data

The specific findings on the nature and causes of the relation of class and fertility in Maguwoharjo may not be readily generalized to the situation in Indonesia as a whole, but they do suggest that it is not unreasonable to find a positive relation between measures of economic status and fertility in stratified peasant societies at low levels of material welfare. As such, they support our contention that the fertility differentials observed by level of schooling of ever-married women in Indonesia are at least partially real, and not merely the result of errors in reporting on the part of poor, uneducated women. Further, the differentials would not seem to arise out of differences in years of schooling per se, but from the conditions of life and family organization among people in different economic groups. Schooling and other modes of transmission of cultural change obviously have some effect on the changing ideas about family relations and patterns of post-partum behaviour, but the overriding determinant of exposure to such sources of cultural change remains the economic status of the different members of Indonesian society. However, even this generalization is subject to substantial modification according to the region and ethnic group under consideration. The data presented here also suggest that the early stages of the new demographic transitions of nations of the Third World may lead to a rise in overall fertility as access to medical facilities and changing patterns of marriage, marital disruption and post-partum behaviour emerge. Later, fertility may fall with postponed marriage and increased use of efficient and direct methods of birth control. It is important to note though, that in places like Maguwoharjo these changes occur at quite different rates and at different periods for people in different economic groups. The relation between class and fertility which can be expected, then, is very much a function of the stage of socio-cultural change which is being examined. This has the important implication for both demographers and policy-makers that any hypotheses or expectations about the relation of economic status and family size must be firmly grounded in an understanding of the social structure of the society in question rather than the a priori acceptance of a presumed socio-demographic law.