Review of research on fertility in Tamil Nadu

It has been argued that poverty by itself has forced a voluntary reduction of family size; with the government family planning programme as the instrument. It has also been suggested that social reforms introduced in the state by the Dravidian movement have led to a better status for women an egalitarian and rational outlook and contributed to fertility decline. Finally credit has also been given to the family planning programme in the state and the greater efficiency of the administrative machinery of Tamil Nadu as compared to other states. In this review we present the propositions put forth along with a summary of the reasoning provided by the proponents and then review the empirical evidence relevant to the propositions. (excerpt)