Fertility Transition in South India

This book documents the various phases of fertility transition in India. It argues that this transition is best understood as the cumulative effect of behavioural changes - such as delay in marriage and use of contraceptives - which over time has altered social perceptions on fertility. The authors argue that going beyond the formal tools of demography and adopting a qualitative approach would help in understanding the social mechanisms that sustain the diffusion of new family norms.

A strength of the book is its development of an original geographical information system based on the census data from the micro-level. This system maps variations across regions within South India and within each state.

Christophe Z Guilmoto is Senior Fellow at the French Research Institute for Development (IRD), Paris.

S Irudaya Rajan is Associate Professor, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.