- At a total fertility rate of seven or more, the chance that a woman entering her reproductive years will not live through them is about one in six.
- Data on the status of women from 79 so-called Third World countries display an unmistakable pattern: high fertility, high rates of illiteracy, low share of paid employment and a high percentage working at home for no pay—they all hang together.
- Many factors militate against poor households’ taking advantage of subsidized education.
- The importance of gender inequality to overpopulation in poor nations is fortunately gaining international recognition.
The Author talks about how people blame population growth as a cause of poverty and environmental degradation. In developing countries, decisions on whether to have a child and on how to share education, food, work, health care and local resources are in large measure made within small entities such as households. The number of live babies a woman could have is she survived her childbearing years is called the total fertility rate, which is between 6 and 8 in Sub-Saharan Africa. When both parents participate in the decision to have a child, there are several pathways through which the choice becomes harmful to the community. Families with greater access to resources are in a position to limit their size and propel themselves into still higher income levels. One motive relates to children as ends in themselves. It ranges from the desire to have children because they are playful and enjoyable, to the desire to obey the dictates of tradition and religion. Rural assets such as village ponds and water holes have been owned communally. If access to shared resources continues, parents produce too many children, leading to crowding and susceptibility to disease and more pressure on the environmental resources. Importance of gender inequality to overpopulation in poor nations is fortunately gaining international recognition. Families with greater access to resources are in a position to limit their size and propel themselves into still higher income levels.