Differential fertility in peasant communities: A study of Six Iranian Villages

Summary This paper attempts to study the relation between socio-economic status and fertility in a sample of six villages in Iran. An index of socio-economic status was constructed. The data reveal positive association between socio-economic status and fertility behaviour of rural couples. When duration of marriage, age of woman at marriage and contraceptive use were introduced into the socio-economic status-fertility relationships, they failed to alter the original findings. Because socio-economic status is related to a number of variables which directly or indirectly influence fertility, additional variables such as miscarriage, stillbirth and lactation must be incorporated into rural surveys on fertility differentials.