Income inequality and fertility: A comparative view.

Area of Science:

• Socioeconomics
• Demography
• Development Studies

Background:

• Traditional studies on population and economic development often overlook resource distribution.
• Aggregate measures of economic development (e.g., income per capita) fail to capture income inequality.
• The distribution of resources, particularly between rural and urban populations, is a critical intervening variable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the significance of resource distribution, specifically rural-urban income inequality, in the relationship between population and economic development.
• To develop a measure of income inequality based on the difference between rural and urban incomes.
• To analyze the impact of income inequality on fertility and infant mortality rates.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel measure for rural-urban income inequality.
• Analysis of societal data including fertility, income, and income inequality.
• Statistical examination of the interplay between economic development, income inequality, education, fertility, and infant mortality.

Main Results:

• Economic development generally reduces rural-urban income inequality.
• The positive effects of increased income per capita and education on reducing infant mortality are diminished without a reduction in rural-urban income inequality.
• Higher rural-urban income inequality is associated with higher fertility rates, likely due to elevated rural fertility.

Conclusions:

• Reducing rural-urban income inequality is essential for realizing the full benefits of economic development on public health and demographic trends.
• Improvements in living standards for the rural population, relative to the urban population, can positively impact fertility reduction.
• Future research should incorporate income distribution as a key factor in population and development studies.