This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pillai, V. K. Articles by Wang, G.-Z. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Women's Reproductive Rights, Modernization, and Family Planning Programs in Developing Countries: A Causal Model

Department of Sociology, University of North Texas, Denton, 76203-1157, TX, U.S.A.

Guang-Zhen Wang

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72204-1099, U.S.A.

Ongoing debates on women's reproductive rights in world conferences and conventions have heightened the need for empirical research and theoretical explanations of women's reproductive rights. The study examines the effects of family planning programs and the processes of moderniza tion on women's reproductive rights.

The study involves 101 developing countries. Using linear structural equation analysis, the study finds that family planning programs reduce population growth. However, population decline does not influence women's reproductive rights. The most important determinant of reproductive rights is gender equality. Socioeconomic development has a positive effect on women's educational attainment, but is negatively related to gender equality. The direct effect of women's education on reproductive rights is negative. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are presented.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?