Migrant Fertility Differentials in Ecuador

Resumen

ABSTRACTABSTRACTThe paper addresses the effect of migration on fertility in Third World settings; in particular, how these effects are influenced by development context of origins and destinations. Contextual influences are defined by a set of six composite variables indicating the socioeconomic and agrarian structure of Ecuador. Particular attention is given to place variations in development components, and the way they interact with personal attributes. The paper contributes in three ways. First, contextual influences on fertility are elaborated in considerably more detail than previously. Second, geographical mobility is addressed as more multifaceted than previously, and migration-fertility relationships are elaborated for four different categories—non-migrants, permanent-migrants, return-migrants, and circular-migrants. Third, fertility has rarely been studied by geographers, and when done, at aggregate levels. In the analyses, the role of personal attributes outweighs the contextual for all four categories. However, contextual influences, while less significant overall, play a role for persons in all migrant categories, and the analyses indicate the importance of place influences, or development context, on fertility. Moreover, these influences vary among the migrant categories in a manner consistent with their generative processes.