Human reproductive ecology in revolutionary China.

Abstract

This dissertation examines the ecological basis of human reproductive behavior during the first 35 years of history of the People's Republic of China (1949--85). Human reproduction is a key component in population-environment interactions. Variations in resource availability, reflecting different social and ecological conditions, tend to give rise to variations in reproductive patterns in different environments. Most empirical studies of human reproductive behavior employing an evolutionary framework examine either traditional societies or historical populations. Few such studies are about modern populations. None of these studies include East Asian societies in general or Chinese populations in particular. My study draws on data from the 1985 China In-depth Fertility Survey, Phase 1. This survey provides a unique opportunity to expand our theoretical exploration of fertility behavior and family formation, especially with regard to the interaction between institutional intervention and individual behavior. Reproduction involves not only the timing and spacing of births, but also parental investments in offspring and the effect of family composition on child rearing. My goals are to examine and analyze the variations in timing and intensity of reproduction, the relationship between parental investment and fertility, and the relationship between family composition and fertility in contemporary China. My study indicates that government policies, along with regional variations in social and economic conditions, strongly influenced individual access to resources in China. Variations in women's reproductive patterns thus reflect differentials in their access to resources and the kinds of trade-offs they made consequently. Parental investment strategies are also influenced by access to resources. In the egalitarian society of Mao's China, cultural capital (not income) of the parents was an important factor in determining trade-offs between offspring quality and quantity, particularly in urban settings. Different family compositions, as determined by the presence or absence of grandparents (paternal and maternal), have different effects on women's fertility behavior. In rural regions where patrilineal kinship is still strong, the presence of paternal grandparents is associated with high fertility for mothers.