Abstract
Socioeconomic factors associated with the fertility level in Vietnam were investigated using the data of 44 provinces derived from the 1989 census. According to simple correlation analysis, variables that significantly correlated with the total fertility rate (TFR) at a 5% risk level, were the proportion married among women of reproducitive age (r=0.634), the literacy rate among women of reproductive age (r=-0.796), the proportion of the urban population (r=-0.394), the proportion of women of reproductive age in the labor force (r=0.349), the population engaged in primary industries (r=0.547), the infant and early childhood mortality rate (r=0.679), the percentage of communes with communal health stations (r=-0.571), the average age at the first marriage of women (r=-0.743) and the sex ratio (male/female)(r=0.399).
In multiple regression analysis (stepwise method), four variables were included in the equation as factors with statistical significance. While the literacy rate among women of reproductive age showed a negative relation with TFR (β =-0.499), the infant and early childhood mortality rate (β =0.338), the proportion married among women of reproductive age (β =0.283), and the total migration rate (β =0.174) showed a positive relation with TFR. These four variables explained 80.0% of the total variance in the observed TFR. These results suggest that the replacement or hoarding theory is applicable to Vietnamese reproductive behavior.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
General Census Steering Committee. Vietnam Population Census-1989 Completed Census Result Vol. I-VI. Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House, 1991.
General Statistical Office. Statistical Yearbook. Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House, 1993.
General Census Steering Committee Vietnam. Population Census-1989-detailed Analysis of Sample Results. Hanoi: Statistical Publishing House, 1991.
Jain AK, Bongaarts J. Breast-feeding patterns, correlates and fertility effects. Studies in Family Planning 1981;12: 79–99.
Ministry of Health. Health Statistics of Vietnam-1990-1992. Hanoi, 1993.
Rosen BC, Simmons AB. Industrialization, family and fertility: A structural psychological analysis of the Brazilian case. Demography 1971;8: 49–69.
Goldstein S. The influence of labor force participation and education on fertility in Thailand. Population Studies 1972;26: 419–36.
Willis RJ. A new approach to the economic theory of fertility behavior. Journal of Political Economy 1973;81: sl4-s64.
Fulop M. The empirical evidence from the fertility demand functions: A review of the literature. American Economist 1977;21: 12–22.
Graff HJ. Literacy, education, and fertility, past and present: A critical review. Population and Development Review 1979;5: 105–40.
Hayase Y. Trends and determinants of fertility in developing countries. In: Kono S, editor. Fertility Decline in Developing Countries. Tokyo: The Institute of Developing Economics, 1992: 33–79.
Singh S, Casterline J. The socio-economic determinants of fertility. In: Cleland J, Hobcraft J, editors. Reproductive Change in Developing Countries: Insights from the World Fertility Survey. London, 1985: 199–222.
Gendall M. Stalls in the fertility decline in Costa Rica, Korea, and SriLanka. World Bank Staff Working Papers, 639, Washington, D.C.1985.
Alauddin AKM, Khan AR, Chen LC. Experience in Pakistan and Bangladesh. In: Preston SH, editor. The Effects of Infant and Child Mortality on Fertility. New York: Academic Press, 1978: 113–30.
Heer DM, Wu HY. Effects in rural Taiwan and urban Morocco: Combining individual and aggregate data. In: Preston SH, editor. The Effects of Infant and Child Mortality on Fertility. New York: Academic Press, 1978: 135–59.
Rutstein S, Medica V. The Latin American experience. In: Preston SH, editor. The Effects of Infant and Child Mortality on Fertility. New York: Academic Press, 1978: 161–79.
United Nations. World Population Trends and Policies: 1981 Monitoring Report, Vol. I: Population Trends. New York: Unitied Nations, 1982.
Kusanagi H, Takasaka K. A study on the trend of fertility and infant mortality rate-An analysis of World Population Data Sheet in 1984, 1988, and 1991-. Jpn J Hum Ecol 1993;59: 136–43.
Shimouchi A, Hayashi K, Osawa K, Watanabe Y, Kawai K. Effects of infant mortality, family planning and socioecomic factors on fertility reduction in developing countries. Environ Health Prev Med 1996;1: 39–43.
Phi Van BA. How do the peasant families in the Red River delta adapt to new economic conditions? In: Liljestorm R, Lai T, editors. Sociological Studies on the Vietnamese Families. Hanoi: Social Science Publishing House, 1991: 149–68.
UNICEF. Vietnam the Situation of Children and Women. Hanoi, 1990: 108.
Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Labour Code. Hanoi: National Political Publishuing House, 1994: 199–299.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Matsuda, S. An analysis of socioeconomic factors associated with fertility in vietnam. Environ Health Prev Med 1, 149–153 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931207
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931207