Farm size, land ownership, and fertility in rural Egypt

Although the importance of the land system to rural social structure has long been recognized, little research has related aspects of the agricultural land system to variation in human fertility. This subject is discussed through a presentation of the findings of a household level analysis of land a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Land economics 1983-11, Vol.59 (4), p.393-403
Main Authors: Schutjer, W.A, Stokes, C.S, Poindexter, J.R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
Africa, Northern
Age Factors
Agricultural land
Agriculture
Births
Child
Child labor
Conservation of Natural Resources
Crops
Data Collection
Demography
Developing Countries
Economic theory
Economics
Egypt
Employment
Environment
Farms
Fertility
Human fertility
Land
Land economics
Land ownership
Land use
Landowners
LDCs
Marriage
Middle East
Ownership
Population
Population Characteristics
Population Dynamics
Population growth
Rural
Rural land use
Rural Population
Size
Socioeconomic Factors
Statistical analysis
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Summary:Although the importance of the land system to rural social structure has long been recognized, little research has related aspects of the agricultural land system to variation in human fertility. This subject is discussed through a presentation of the findings of a household level analysis of land availability and fertility variation among farm families in rural Egypt, within a framework that considers variation in both land ownership and size of holdings cultivated. The results suggest that, unless accompanied by a technology package that substantially reduces the demand for child labor, land development programs in rural Egypt would likely be supportive of a high fertility regime. Traditional land reform programs that redistribute land such that both cultivation and ownership rights are distributed will have the pronatalist impact associated with increased farm size and the fertility-depressing impact of increasing land ownership.
ISSN:0023-7639
1543-8325
DOI:10.2307/3145654