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Estimating the intrinsic rate of increase of population from the average numbers of younger and older sisters

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Demography

Abstract

Based on stable population theory, a mathematical relationship is developed between the intrinsic rate of increase (r) of a population and the ratio (Z) of the average number of younger sisters ever born to the average number of older sisters ever born, for a random sample of women in the population. This mathematical formula is then converted into a technique for estimating r from data on numbers of sisters. The extent to which the technique may be generalizable to actual populations is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Population Research, Princeton University, 08540, Princeton, New Jersey

    Noreen Goldman

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  1. Noreen Goldman
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Goldman, N. Estimating the intrinsic rate of increase of population from the average numbers of younger and older sisters. Demography 15, 499–507 (1978). https://doi.org/10.2307/2061202

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2061202

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