Based on an intensive fieldwork in a southern Hebei village in northern China (1992/3), the author takes an institutional approach and focuses on the way deliberate Chinese state policies driven by new economic and social agendas since the late 1970s have impacted on marriage, family relations and consequently on the way fertility trends have been adversely affected; the study is also very much concerned with the human dimension and the way in which such social and economic changes are perceived and applied in a rural community. The research presented in this study goes a long way to unravelling the puzzle concerning the reasons for a very rapid decline in Chinese fertility rates, contrasting sharply with a very different fertility transition within western cultures.

Weiguo Zhang

Introduction Chapter 1. Economy, Institutions and Fertility: Theoretical Explorations Chapter 2. Chinese Reforms and Fertility: Macro Context Chapter 3. The County: Reforms, Family Planning, Economy and Population Chapter 4. The Village: Institutional Reforms and Social Change Chapter 5. Dynamics of Marriage Change Chapter 6. The Changing Nature of Family Relations Chapter 7. Inter-generational Obligaitons and Fertility Motivation Chapter 8. Implementation of State Family Planning Programmes Chapter 9. Fertility, Contraception and Adoption Conclusion Appendixes Bibliography Index