This volume is part of an effort to review what is known about the determinants of fertility transition in developing countries and to identify lessons that might lead to policies aimed at lowering fertility. It addresses the roles of diffusion processes, ideational change, social networks, and mass communications in changing behavior and values, especially as related to childbearing. A new body of empirical research is currently emerging from studies of social networks in Asia (Thailand, Taiwan, Korea), Latin America (Costa Rica), and Sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Malawi, Ghana). Given the potential significance of social interactions to the design of effective family planning programs in high-fertility settings, efforts to synthesize this emerging body of literature are clearly important.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
1 Diffusion Processes and Fertility Transition: Introduction
2 Potatoes and Pills: An Overview of Innovation-Diffusion Contributions to Explanations of Fertility Decline
3 Diffusion in Sociological Analysis
4 Social Interactions and Fertility Transitions
5 Social Processes and Fertility Change
6 Learning and Using New Ideas: A Sociocognitive Perspective
7 Mass Media and Fertility Change
8 Ready, Willing, and Able: A Conceptualization of Transitions to New Behavioral Forms
Index