The Influence of Developmental Idealism on Fertility

Developmental idealism theory poses a collection of schemas, known as developmental idealism (DI), as an important influence on demographic behavior and change. We test this proposition for fertility behavior by examining if individuals' endorsement of DI influences their subsequent progression to a birth. The assessed DI schemas include beliefs that low fertility is a cause and effect of societal development and a positive attitude toward fertility decline. We use panel data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study collected from 2008 to 2014 in Nepal-a period when fertility declined from about three to nearly two children per woman. Nepali policy has long emphasized a two-child ideal for achieving national development. Thus, we also examine if DI endorsement is more influential for women with two or more children compared with those with none or only one. DI endorsement did influence women's fertility. High DI endorsement reduced the probability of another birth by more than half among women with two or more children. By contrast, endorsement of DI did not affect women's progression to first and second births. This finding suggests the spread of DI culture may well have contributed to fertility decline by motivating many to limit their family size.