Reproduction and Social Context in Sub-Saharan Africa

A Collection of Micro-Demographic Studies

Samuel Agyei-Mensah, John B. Casterline

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2003
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780313071911
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Ethnic Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Perhaps no region matches sub-Saharan Africa in its social and cultural diversity. In this collection of micro-demographic studies, the authors examine how the diversity of this region influences reproductive behavior. The empirical studies, distributed throughout the continent, are localized, in-depth studies that give special attention to contextual effects of social structure and social organization. A diverse range of topics is addressed including, adolescent sexuality and the effects of early childbearing on later fertility, the impact of development programs on fertility and the association between social organization, social diffusion, and reproductive regime. Highly revealing of the determinants of reproduction in Africa, these studies serve as a model for a new mode of demographic research.

The chapters are arranged by geographical regions of the continent, with an introductory chapter outlining the editors' vision of a micro-demographic enterprise and a concluding chapter placing the African fertility transition in the context of the global fertility transition. This volume inspires fresh thinking and theorizing about demographic change, not only in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in all low-income settings.

Table of contents

• Foreword by George Benneh
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Reproduction and Social Context in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Introduction Samuel Agyei-Mensah and John B. Casterline
• 2. Social Organization and Reproductive Behavior in Southern Ghana Dominic K. Agyeman and John B. Casterline
• 3. Social Identity and Community in the Fertility of Southern Ethiopian Women Dennis P. Hogan and Betemariam Berhanu
• 4. The Fertility Impact of the Rahad Irrigation Project, Sudan El-Rayah A. Osman
• 5. Social Setting, Birth Timing, and Subsequent Fertility in the Ghanaian South Samuel Agyei-Mensah, Asbjorn Aase and Kofi Awusabo-Asare
• 6. Changes in Reproductive Ideology and Its Control from Natural to Limited Fertility Regimes in Malawi Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu and Ezekiel Kalipeni
• 7. The Nature of Unmet Need for Contraception in Ndola, Zambia Ann E. Biddlecom and Frederick A.D. Kaona
• 8. Space, Context, and Hardship: Socializing Children into Sexual Activity in Kenyan Slums F. Nii-Amoo Dodoo, Melissa Sloan, and Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu
• 9. Economic Transactions Associated with Sexual Intercourse Among Malian Adolescents: Implications for Sexual Health Sarah Castle and Mamadou Kani Konate
• 10. New Light on the Sub-Saharan African Fertility Transition: Conclusion John C. Caldwell and Pat Caldwell
• Index
• About the Editors and Contributors