China's fertility change: an analysis with multiple measures.

BACKGROUND: The period fertility in China has declined to very low levels, and the completed cohort fertility rate (CFR) has also decreased significantly. However, the exact fertility rate remains controversial. While the tempo effect has played a significant role in China's period fertility decline, child underreporting has to be taken into consideration in China's fertility research. METHODS: By using the census data from 1982 to 2010, and the 1% population sample survey data from 1995 to 2015, we systematically analyzed China's fertility and its trends since the 1980s using period fertility measures, adjusted period fertility measures, cohort fertility measures, and indirect estimation methods. RESULTS: The results show that marriage postponement significantly affects the TFR decline. Even after eliminating the tempo and parity structure effect, the adjusted TFR has fallen below 1.5, and the first-order fertility rate dropped to 0.9 in 2015. The CFR for women aged 45-49 declined from 5.37 in 1982 to 1.62 in 2015 mainly because of a decrease in fourth and higher-order births from 1982 to 1990, a decrease in second and third births from 1990 to 2000, and a decrease in second births from 2000 to 2015. Indirect estimation methods yielded a TFR in the range of 1.5-1.6 for the period 2000-2010 and an average TFR of 1.49 for the period 2011-2020. CONCLUSIONS: The traditional norm of universal marriage and childbearing for Chinese women is changing. China's fertility has been steadily declining, as measured by both period and cohort indicators. Following the historical change, fertility may continue to decline even after introducing the universal three-child policy in China in 2021.

Explaining fertility transition of a developing country: an analysis of quantum and tempo effect.

BACKGROUND: The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is defined as the average number of births a woman would have if she were to live throughout the reproductive span and bear children at each age at the rates observed in a particular year or period. The current demographic explanation for decline in TFR is primarily attributed to an increase in postponement in pregnancy. Being cross-sectional, fertility measures can be confounded by changes in the timing of births across women's lifetimes (tempo) and by changes in the numbers of children that they have by the time they end their childbearing (quantum). After a sharp fall in the last two decades, TFR of Bangladesh is now 2.3; whereas the TFR was greater than 3 in the last decade. However, mean age at childbearing showed decreasing trend in the last decade. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of data from the three consecutive Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys; BDHS-2004, 2007 and 2011. The method of Bongaarts and Feeney has been applied to estimate the tempo of fertility. Life Table analyses were applied on birth intervals to explain the tempo effect. RESULTS: There was a sustained decline of the fertility quantum (the number of births per woman) as estimated by the conventional TFR; due to tempo effects during the last three BDHS surveys. Mean age at childbearing also showed decreasing trend in the last decade. CONCLUSIONS: The current study shows the presence of a significant tempo effect with variability of timing in having first or higher order births. If this trend continues, Bangladesh will be able to achieve below replacement level of fertility soon.

Efeitos tempo, parturição e quantum no Brasil: indicadores de período e evidências empíricas / Quantum, tempo and parity effects in Brazil: period indicators and empirical evidence / Efectos tiempo, paridez y quantum en Brasil: indicadores de periodo y evidencias empíricas

O presente artigo tem como objetivo estimar e comparar diferentes indicadores de fecundidade de período, com enfoque naqueles que corrigem distorções causadas na taxa de fecundidade total (TFT) observada em determinado período, a fim de criar e avaliar novas possibilidades de análise da fecundidade no Brasil. São apresentadas séries de TFT, TFT PPR, PATFR, PATFRajustada (K-O), PDTFR e PADTFR, bem como as séries históricas dos efeitos tempo e parturição e da idade média da fecundidade. Foram utilizados os bancos de dados sobre histórias de nascimentos, obtidos a partir das edições de 1980, 1991 e 2000 do Censo Demográfico brasileiro. Os resultados mostram que, no Brasil, a transição da fecundidade foi acompanhada, durante praticamente todo o período de análise, por um efeito tempo negativo e um efeito parturição positivo, que atuaram no sentido de inflar a fecundidade observada. No futuro próximo, a fecundidade observada no Brasil deverá ser diminuída, principalmente pela ação do efeito tempo positivo.

The authors estimate and compare fertility indicators for different periods, focusing on those that correct distortions in the total fecundity rate (TFR) for a given period. The purpose is to raise and evaluate new possibilities of fertility analysis in Brazil. The indicators TFR, TFRPPR, PATFR, PATFRadjusted (K-O), PDTFR, and PADTFR are presented, as well as historical series of tempo and parity effects (K-O model) and mean age at childbearing. The data were taken from a database of birth histories obtained from the 1980, 1991, and 2000 Brazilian demographic censuses. Results show that changes in fertility in Brazil were accompanied by a negative tempo effect and a positive parity effect, meaning that the TFR observed was inflated. In the near future the Brazilian TFR may fall due to tempo effect.

El presente artículo tiene el objetivo de estimar y comparar distintos indicadores de fecundidad de periodo, con enfoque en aquellos que corrigen distorsiones ocasionadas en la tasa de fecundidad total (TFT) observada en determinado periodo, a fin de crear y evaluar nuevas posibilidades de analizar la fecundidad en Brasil. Se presentan series de TFT, TFT PPR, PATFR, PATFRajustada (K-O), PDTFR y PADTFR, así como las series históricas de los efectos tiempo y paridez y de la edad promedio de la fecundidad. Se utilizaron bancos de datos sobre historias de nacimientos, obtenidos a partir de las ediciones de 1980, 1991 y 2000 del Censo Demográfico brasileño. Los resultados muestran que en Brasil la transición de la fecundidad fue acompañada, durante prácticamente todo el periodo de análisis, por un efecto tiempo negativo y un efecto paridez positivo, que actuaron en el sentido de inflar la fecundidad observada. En el futuro próximo, la fecundidad observada en Brasil deberá disminuir, principalmente debido a la acción del efecto tiempo positivo.