KJ wrote:
>
> [CLIP]
> > Also odd is something abour the decline in the birth
> > rate -- birthrate correlates INVERSELY with poverty.
>
> Not odd at all. That's pretty standard demographic stuff -- and that's
> what makes a Cuba, say, stand out, because their stats don't comport
> with their income levels. Demographers have spent plenty of effort to
> explain this inverse relation -- from children as investment, to
> assurance against child mortality (e.g. my own grandma had 11
> children, only 4 of which survived to adulthood), to pooling
> (reckoning the net economic contribution of children), etc. It's
> amazing how quickly the birth-rates can turn around with improvements
> in care/health services delivery and without substantial changes in
> income.
>
Speculation -- though there may be some research and analysis backing this: The birth rate is in inverse ratio to the status of women. The more social and/or individual power women have, the fewer babies. Perhaps also a correlation (inverse) with leisure time.
Carrol