Deck 5: The Fertility Transition

Question 1

The impact of China's one-child policy on that country's fertility level can best be described as

A) having provided the initial impetus for a fertility decline.
B) allowing China to mirror similar fertility declines among its neighbors.
C) facilitating an already existing decline in fertility.
D) being important only because it accompanied measures of social equity.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The total fertility rate measures the total number of

A) children born in a population.
B) surviving children that a woman will have in her lifetime.
C) children ever born to a woman at the end of her reproductive career.
D) projected children ever born per woman if ASFRs do not change.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Among women aged 15-49 in the United States, the most popular form of contraception is

A) the condom.
B) the pill.
C) sterilization.
D) long-acting reversible contraception (LARC).

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The region of the world that currently has the highest levels of fertility is

A) Africa.
B) Asia.
C) Latin America.
D) Oceania.

Question 5

The single most important instigator of fertility decline at the societal level is

A) lower mortality.
B) the empowerment of women.
C) secularization.
D) higher levels of education.

Question 6

Of the following characteristics of women, which is most closely associated with fertility levels?

A) Educational level
B) Labor force participation
C) Religious preference
D) Wealth

Question 7

Of the following important proximate determinants of fertility, ________ is least effective in terms of its average effect on fertility levels.

A) abortion
B) age at entry into sexual unions
C) voluntary abstinence
D) breast-feeding

Question 8

The evidence suggests that ________ is an important impediment to higher fertility levels in Europe.

A) lack of gender equity within marriage
B) the widespread use of abortion
C) a continually sluggish economic environment
D) the "glass ceiling" for women in the workplace

Question 9

The available evidence suggests that the most widely used method of birth control in the world is

A) the pill.
B) the condom.
C) voluntary abstinence.
D) abortion.

Question 10

The concept that parents seek a trade-off between quantity and quality is derived from

A) the innovation-diffusion perspective.
B) neo-classical economic theory.
C) rational choice theory.
D) the supply-demand framework.

Question 11

The net reproduction rate is also known as the

A) generational replacement rate.
B) total fertility rate.
C) fertility index.
D) mean length of generation.

Question 12

Among the following factors that might be influencing current fertility trends in the United States, the one with the least impact is that

A) increasing numbers of babies born are Hispanic.
B) high levels of cohabitation are depressing the birth rate.
C) teenage birth rates are declining.
D) the average age at motherhood is increasing.

Question 13

The fertility transition can best be described as the shift

A) to a higher probability that children born will survive to adulthood.
B) from low to high female empowerment.
C) from family building by fate to family building by design.
D) from parental bondage to parental freedom.

Question 14

Data on fertility intentions help to sort out the difference between

A) timing and quantum of births.
B) gross and net reproduction.
C) general and age-specific rates.
D) proximate and distal determinants of fertility.

Question 15

Of the following, _______ is least likely to be an explanation for the high fertility that existed for most of human history.

A) the need to overcome high mortality
B) the fact that children are a source of security and labor for their parents
C) the desire for sons
D) religious objections to the use of contraception

Question 16

Hutterite society has been notable especially for having high fertility in the context of

A) low mortality.
B) dense urban life.
C) acceptance of abortion.
D) late age at marriage.

Question 17

"Natural" fertility in most populations produces an average of about ____ children.

A) two to three
B) four to five
C) six to seven
D) eight to nine

Question 18

The concept of accepting calculated choice as being a valid element in marital fertility decisions is one of the

A) differences between fecundity and fertility.
B) preconditions for a substantial fertility decline.
C) proximate determinants of fertility.
D) diffusion processes leading to a decline in fertility.

Question 19

In any given modern society, the average number of children born to women is especially related to

A) the percent of the population that is urban.
B) the existence of government policies promoting family planning.
C) the likelihood of women being in the paid labor force.
D) the overall status of women in that society.

Question 20

The concept that fertility is importantly influenced by other people with whom we live and associate is associated with

A) the innovation-diffusion perspective.
B) neo-classical economic theory.
C) rational choice theory.
D) the supply-demand framework.

Question 21

Female genital mutilation is associated with low status of women, which is associated with high fertility.

Question 22

The total fertility rate in the United States has hovered near replacement level since the mid-1970s.

Question 23

Do you agree that the supply-demand framework and the innovation-diffusion theories seem like complementary perspectives on the fertility transition, rather than competing with each other? Defend your answer.

Question 24

The opportunity costs of children change over time as social circumstances change.

Question 25

How do you think your perspective on the number of children you want to have in your lifetime would differ if you lived in western Europe, as compared to living in sub-Saharan Africa?

Question 26

In population studies, fecundity refers to the biological capacity to reproduce.

Question 27

East Asia continues to be a region in the world with fertility levels that are well above replacement.

Question 28

What are the arguments for and against the idea that fertility control is a moral dilemma rather than preventive medicine?

Question 29

Hutterite women in the United States in the 1930s averaged 11 live births per woman.

Question 30

The diffusion of ideas such as desired family size is enhanced by the existence of rigidly defined social strata.

Question 31

Abortion rates tend to be highest when other methods of contraception are not readily available to women.

Question 32

Why is the status of women in society so important to determining the level of fertility?

Question 33

The later a woman marries, the more children she is likely to have.

Question 34

The healthier a woman is, the later is the age at which she experiences menarche.

Question 35

How have the three preconditions for a fertility decline played out thus far in your own life?