Ajia Keizai
Online ISSN : 2434-0537
Print ISSN : 0002-2942
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Transformation of Fertility Behavior in Southern Tunisia: Case Study of Two Villages in Tataouine
Erina Iwasaki
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2020 Volume 61 Issue 1 Pages 35-67

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Abstract

Middle Eastern countries have been undergoing a decline in fertility since the 1990s. In Tunisia, the fertility rate dropped close to the demographic transition level, even in rural areas. This article examines the factors contributing to fertility decline in rural Tunisia, based on data from questionnaire surveys conducted in 1997 and 2016. Because the same households were surveyed 20 years apart, change in fertility and reasons for this change could be analyzed at the micro-level.

Results of the analysis confirmed that fertility declined between 1997 and 2016 in the villages studied. (1) Direct causes were postponing marriage later until in life (which was due mainly to time spent pursuing higher education and the difficulty men faced seeking employment) and the prevalence of family planning. (2) Although the women in 2016 exhibited the same preference as in 1997 for giving birth to their first child within 1 year of marriage, they preferred greater spacing for subsequent births in 2016, which reflects a change in their attitude toward quality of life. Notably, their ideal number of children did not change. The preference for a large family persisted, reflecting the actual socioeconomic role of family in the study villages.

These results led us to conclude that the fertility decline in the region was not caused by the so-called ‘modernization’ of the family. Marriage and family continue to play important roles in the region’s society, and this seems unlikely to change. In such a society, the demographic reaction of households to socioeconomic conditions is to delay marriage.

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© 2020 Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization
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