Colleran Heidi, Jasienska Grazyna, Nenko Ilona, Galbarczyk Andrzej, Mace Ruth
Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse 31015, France Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1H 0BW, UK
Department of Environmental Health, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow 31-531, Poland.
Proc Biol Sci. 2015 May 7;282(1806):20150287. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0287.
In the course of demographic transitions (DTs), two large-scale trends become apparent: (i) the broadly positive association between wealth, status and fertility tends to reverse, and (ii) wealth inequalities increase and then temporarily decrease. We argue that these two broad patterns are linked, through a diversification of reproductive strategies that subsequently converge as populations consume more, become less self-sufficient and increasingly depend on education as a route to socio-economic status. We examine these links using data from 22 mid-transition communities in rural Poland. We identify changing relationships between fertility and multiple measures of wealth, status and inequality. Wealth and status generally have opposing effects on fertility, but these associations vary by community. Where farming remains a viable livelihood, reproductive strategies typical of both pre- and post-DT populations coexist. Fertility is lower and less variable in communities with lower wealth inequality, and macro-level patterns in inequality are generally reproduced at the community level. Our results provide a detailed insight into the changing dynamics of wealth, status and inequality that accompany DTs at the community level where peoples' social and economic interactions typically take place. We find no evidence to suggest that women with the most educational capital gain wealth advantages from reducing fertility, nor that higher educational capital delays the onset of childbearing in this population. Rather, these patterns reflect changing reproductive preferences during a period of profound economic and social change, with implications for our understanding of reproductive and socio-economic inequalities in transitioning populations.
在人口转变过程中，有两个大规模趋势变得明显：（i）财富、地位与生育率之间大致呈正相关的关系往往会逆转，以及（ii）财富不平等先增加然后暂时减少。我们认为，这两种广泛模式是相互关联的，是通过生殖策略的多样化实现的，随着人口消费增加、自给自足程度降低且越来越依赖教育作为获得社会经济地位的途径，这些策略随后趋于一致。我们使用来自波兰农村22个处于转变中期社区的数据来研究这些联系。我们确定了生育率与财富、地位和不平等的多种衡量指标之间不断变化的关系。财富和地位通常对生育率有相反的影响，但这些关联因社区而异。在农业仍然是可行生计的地方，人口转变前后典型的生殖策略并存。在财富不平等较低的社区，生育率较低且变化较小，不平等的宏观层面模式通常会在社区层面重现。我们的研究结果详细洞察了在社区层面人口转变过程中财富、地位和不平等不断变化的动态，而人们的社会和经济互动通常发生在社区层面。我们没有发现证据表明拥有最多教育资本的女性通过降低生育率获得财富优势，也没有发现更高的教育资本会推迟该人群生育的开始。相反，这些模式反映了在深刻的经济和社会变革时期生殖偏好的变化，这对我们理解转型人口中的生殖和社会经济不平等具有启示意义。
