Does economic development necessarily lead to a decline in population? Some contrary evidence

This is a summary of a micro-level study conducted in three villages in India to examine the impact of economic development on population growth. The emphasis is on variables pertaining to social structure, particularly occupational status. "It was found that there was no significant relationship between level of income and occupational prestige on the one hand and the size of the family on the other in every village....The correlations between educational level of the head of the household and the size of his family were....small and because of the low levels of literacy they have not played any significant role in the demographic change in any of the villages." The author concludes that "if the parents try to restrict the size of their families it is not so much because they do not derive...economic benefits from their children but because thereby they hope to improve the career prospects of their children."