Reproduction and Social Context in Sub-Saharan Africa

An important contribution to the growing body of literature that attempts to nest demographic behavior in its local context, these essays incorporate and combine quantitative with qualitative analyses in order to better understand reproductive behavior in many different contexts in sub-Saharan Africa. John R. Weeks, Professor of Geography and Director International Population Center, San Diego State University

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.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.