The Continuing Flight from Marriage and Parenthood Among the Overseas Chinese in East and Southeast Asia: Dimensions and Implications

This analysis reviews the recent marital fertility behavior of the overseas Chinese--particularly in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan--and notes some policy considerations. The tendency toward delay of marriage has turned into a major flight from marriage, particularly among the most urban...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Population and development review 1994-12, Vol.20 (4), p.811-829
Main Author: Leete, Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Age at marriage
Asia
Asian Cultural Groups
Censuses
Chinese
Chinese (Asian people)
Chinese people
Decline
Demographic aspects
Demography
East Asia
Economic conditions
Education
Family
Family planning
Family planning services
Fertility
Fertility Decline
Fertility rates
Hong Kong
Infant mortality
Malaysia
Marriage
Marriage age
Marriage Patterns
Overseas Chinese
Parenthood
Parents & parenting
Population policy
Singapore
Social conditions & trends
Socioeconomic Factors
Southeast Asia
Taiwan
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Description
Summary:This analysis reviews the recent marital fertility behavior of the overseas Chinese--particularly in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan--and notes some policy considerations. The tendency toward delay of marriage has turned into a major flight from marriage, particularly among the most urbanized overseas Chinese. Economic factors, combined with increased education, appear to be the main determinants of the reluctance to marry and bear children. An important policy question is the extent to which governments in the region should merely adapt existing institutions to the changed behavior or, rather, attempt to directly influence marriage and child-bearing through explicit pronatalist policies.
ISSN:0098-7921
1728-4457
DOI:10.2307/2137663