Determinants of Birth Interval Dynamics in Kohgylooye and Bovairahmad Province, Iran

Abstract

In this paper problems of model specification in birth interval analysis are discussed. Using Bongaart’s conceptual framework on the proximate determinants of fertility, this hypothesis tests that all important variations in fertility are located in differences in marriage, breastfeeding, contraception and induced abortion. A proportional hazard model is applied to study the early birth intervals using data from Bovairahmad Township-Iran-Fertility Survey of 1998. The results not only suggest that the hypothesis is largely confirmed, but also that socio-economic variables do have something to add to the explanatory power of a model over and above the contribution made by the proximate determinants.