Does Economic Status Affects Fertility Decline? Comparative Study of Two Lowest Fertility States Kerala and Tamil Nadu

The decline in fertility is more prominent in the southern regions in comparison to other regions of India. In this regard how much change in fertility in lowest fertility states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu (mean children ever born is less than 2.5) could be attributed because of household wealth index apart from other explanatory factors is remains unanswered. The research hypothesis is that economic status of the household is the main factor of fertility decline although there is still debate about which are the predominant factors? With the help of decomposition analysis by using data from National Family Health Survey, 1992-93 and 2005-06 we will quantify the role of each independent covariate. So, an attempt has been made to examine the contribution of each selected covariate to the overall decline in fertility of Kerala and Tamil Nadu states, with the help of Poisson regression decomposition analysis. Analysis reveals that in both the states propensity component explained more than 50% of the total change in fertility. Number of living sons and daughters, women’s education and contraceptive use contributed significantly in overall declining the fertility. More specifically, women belong to medium and upper wealth quintiles, educated women contributed more in overall declining the fertility.