The Second Demographic Transition Theory and Fertility Changes in Kerala, India

Trina Vithayathil, Brown University

This research project considers the relevance of the second demographic transition theory to persistent below replacement fertility in the Indian state of Kerala. Using three waves of data from the National Family Health Survey, this paper examines changes in the proximate determinants of fertility for four successive birth-cohorts starting in 1947. Along with a detailed examination of fertility decline in Kerala, this project contextualizes the findings from Kerala through an analysis of the changes in the proximate determinants of fertility for the major Indian States.