Fertility in rural and urban areas in Mexico

Abstract

The objectives of this paper are to make a comparative study in order to observe the impact of contraception on urban and rural areas in Mexico and, at the same time, to ascertain whether contraception could be practiced on a significant scale in the country's rural areas, including those in the initial stages of economic development.

So as to achieve this proposed goal, the author uses data from six surveys conducted between 1969 and 1987 and calculates for both rural and urban areas in Mexico, specific marital fertility rates and the m index of fertility control developed by Coale and Trussel. This study reveals the following: a) that, during the observation period, the conditions of natural fertility which had existed in 1969 in the country's rural areas disappeared and that, with the passage of time, there has been greater use of - contraceptive methods and, consequently, more pronounced reductions of the fertility rate; b) that in urban areas, contraception is practiced widely and ever-increasingly; c) that, upon observing the behavior of the drop reported in rural zones during the 1976- 1982 period, the theory of modernization loses effectiveness since, at least in some instances, the increased pace of efforts to limit family size has been greater in rural areas than in urban ones. Even though the author's hypothesis is confirmed to a certain degree, it is probable that a sustained reduction of fertility in the country's most depressed zones can only be attained through substantial socioeconomic change.