Author:
Bongaarts John,Hodgson Dennis
Abstract
AbstractThis chapter examines the long-standing debate about the effects of family planning programs on contraceptive behavior and fertility. We begin with a brief overview of the main rationale for family planning, namely the removal of obstacles to practicing contraception by women who want to space or limit their births. The central sections of the chapter then discuss the evidence on the effects of family planning programs. Three sources of evidence are examined: (1) controlled experiments; (2) natural experiments; and (3) statistical studies. These sources provide broadly comparable estimates of the effects of a high-quality family planning program: an increase of 25–35% in contraceptive prevalence and a decline of about 1.5 births per woman in the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) compared to a population without family planning support. The statistical analyses examine the roles of family planning programs in changing contraceptive demand and its satisfaction and the pattern of wanted and unwanted fertility. Demand refers to the proportion of women who do not want to get pregnant and its satisfaction refers to the proportion of women with a demand that practice contraception. As expected, family planning programs raise the satisfaction of demand for contraception and reduce unwanted fertility. Contrary to common conclusions made in economic theories of fertility, family planning programs have a substantial impact on demand for contraception and on wanted fertility. We conclude with a discussion of the criticisms of family planning programs and the claims that these programs have at best a small impact and are not cost-effective.
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
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