Rural Income‐Generating Programs and Fertility Limitation: Evidence from a Microdemographic Study in Nepal¹

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Participation in rural development programs that organize members into local cooperative groups can alter the decision‐making environment facing couples to reflect some of the negative consequences of childbearing. This study uses data from Nepal, collected through a combination of ethnographic and survey methods, to test the effects of participation in such a development program on fertility behavior. Results demonstrate that program participants are much more likely to use contraceptives to limit their fertility than are non‐participants. The study provides empirical support for theories linking this type of institutional change to fertility and indicates a policy option that can allow some negative consequences of childbearing to affect couples' fertility decisions.