The Anomaly of the Fertility Decline in India's Kerala State: A Field Investigation

Abstract

Kerala does not conform to the socioeconomic development pattern normally associated with a rapid fertility decline. This report attempts to determine the causes of the decline that Kerala is experiencing. Given that the background description is not inaccurate, attention is focused upon social, cultural, and political characteristics that may be relevant. Three of these seem more important than others: land reform, political awareness, and education. Extensive land reform has not only redistibuted the wealth, but has also contributed to the decline of the matriarchal systems; every aspect of life in Kerala is politicized, facilitating better delivery of government services; and high educational attainment has been accompanied by high unemployment among the educated. All these factors seem to have had an effect on the declining fertility rate; family planning programs seem to have been insignificant.

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