Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.

Mixed economies provide a unique context for testing theories of fertility change. Because they have a stake in two traditions, mixed-economy households balance the demands of both a labor-based subsistence economy, which benefits from a large family, and a wage-labor economy, which benefits from re...

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Autores principales:	Joseph V Hackman, Karen L Kramer
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/19acaba25d8d431e8d3a582e409088d8
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:19acaba25d8d431e8d3a582e409088d82021-12-02T20:10:09ZBalancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0253535https://doaj.org/article/19acaba25d8d431e8d3a582e409088d82021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253535https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Mixed economies provide a unique context for testing theories of fertility change. Because they have a stake in two traditions, mixed-economy households balance the demands of both a labor-based subsistence economy, which benefits from a large family, and a wage-labor economy, which benefits from reduced fertility. Additionally, household size changes over the course of its life-cycle and shapes available economic opportunities. Here we argue that in mixed economies, fertility may reflect opportunities for livelihood diversity rather than simply responding to the restricted socioeconomic benefits of small families. While low fertility may in some cases have an economic benefit, low fertility can also limit the livelihood diversity of a household which is a key strategy for long-term economic success. We test this prediction with longitudinal data from a Maya community undergoing both a sustained decline in fertility and rapid integration into the market economy. Using household-level fertility, number of adults, and livelihood diversity at two time points, we find that household size is positively related to livelihood diversity, which in turn is positively related to household income per-capita. However, household size also has a negative association with income per capita. The results reflect a balancing act whereby households attempt to maximize the economic diversity with as few members as possible. Broadly, these results suggest that theories of fertility decline must account for how households pool resources and diversify economic activities in the face of increasing market integration, treating fertility as both an outcome and an input into economic and reproductive decision-making.Joseph V HackmanKaren L KramerPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 6, p e0253535 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Joseph V Hackman Karen L Kramer Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.
description	Mixed economies provide a unique context for testing theories of fertility change. Because they have a stake in two traditions, mixed-economy households balance the demands of both a labor-based subsistence economy, which benefits from a large family, and a wage-labor economy, which benefits from reduced fertility. Additionally, household size changes over the course of its life-cycle and shapes available economic opportunities. Here we argue that in mixed economies, fertility may reflect opportunities for livelihood diversity rather than simply responding to the restricted socioeconomic benefits of small families. While low fertility may in some cases have an economic benefit, low fertility can also limit the livelihood diversity of a household which is a key strategy for long-term economic success. We test this prediction with longitudinal data from a Maya community undergoing both a sustained decline in fertility and rapid integration into the market economy. Using household-level fertility, number of adults, and livelihood diversity at two time points, we find that household size is positively related to livelihood diversity, which in turn is positively related to household income per-capita. However, household size also has a negative association with income per capita. The results reflect a balancing act whereby households attempt to maximize the economic diversity with as few members as possible. Broadly, these results suggest that theories of fertility decline must account for how households pool resources and diversify economic activities in the face of increasing market integration, treating fertility as both an outcome and an input into economic and reproductive decision-making.
format	article
author	Joseph V Hackman Karen L Kramer
author_facet	Joseph V Hackman Karen L Kramer
author_sort	Joseph V Hackman
title	Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.
title_short	Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.
title_full	Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.
title_fullStr	Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.
title_full_unstemmed	Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.
title_sort	balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/19acaba25d8d431e8d3a582e409088d8
work_keys_str_mv	AT josephvhackman balancingfertilityandlivelihooddiversityinmixedeconomies AT karenlkramer balancingfertilityandlivelihooddiversityinmixedeconomies
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Balancing fertility and livelihood diversity in mixed economies.

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