FERTILITY IN CHINA 1982-1990 - GENDER EQUALITY AS A COMPLEMENT TO WEALTH FLOWS THEORY

Some scholars claim there is little variation in Chinese fertility bec ause of 'coercive' family planning policies. This research, however, d emonstrates that other factors contribute to significant variation in fertility rates among China's 30 provinces/administrative divisions. A lthough family planning and socioeconomic development are found to exp lain significant amounts of variation in fertility for both the 1982 a nd 1990 census cross-sections, it was also found that gender equality in education had become significant by 1990. Path model results that l ag the effects of 1982 socioeconomic development and gender equality i n education also indicate that they both have sizable direct effects a nd moderate indirect effects through family planning behavior on 1990 fertility rates. Discussions include the possibility that the recent f ree market and institutional reforms, e.g., the decollectivization of agriculture, have contributed a social structure whereby many Chinese families have increased awareness of the opportunity costs associated with their reproductive decision making.