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Book Review: Reproductive Change in Developing Countries: Insights from the World Fertility Survey

The editors of this volume of 12 essays, plus an introduction, set out with an excellent intention, namely to review the contribution of the World Fertility Survey to demographic knowledge in a way that will 'place the findings in the wider context of preexisting knowledge and theories' (p. 3). In a style that is always clear, often readable and usually non-technical, the contributions are highly successful. Any geographer who wants to know about the demography of contemporary third world fertility patterns would do well to start here. The chapters are organized in the following way. The introduction provides a brief sketch of how the World Fertility Survey (WFS) was established in 1972, worked for 12 years, cost more than 40 million US dollars and was responsible for surveys in 41 or 42 countries (Africa, 13; Asia and Pacific, 15; Americas, 13; but not Brazil, India or China). Chapter one covers the origin and achievements of WFS in greater detail in a fashion that is both self-critical and yet constructive (the reason for the largely empirical basis for the surveys is especially interesting in the way it reflects on the poverty of demographic theory). The survey methods are studied in Chapter two while Chapter three, by J.C. Caldwell, deals with alternative methods of studying variations in marital fertility. Chapters four to eleven deal with particular problems that can be tackled using WFS data either via international comparisons or by considering particular countries in detail. Family building patterns are reviewed in Chapter four by squatter settlements, highrise housing solutions, and growth pole developments. He points out that technical, western-derived planning policies may be inappropriate and even harmful in some contexts. All programmes need to be place and culture specific and include significant doses of local input. Oversophisticated planning models are often impossible to implement and may lead to cultural collisions even if carried out. He argues that 'cosmetic' participation (i.e. keeping the public informed) is not the answer. Potter then reviews a variety of procedures from the Delphi technique to mental mapping aimed at getting people involved and enabling them to have an input into the planning process. This is a good, if brief, review of the behavioural revolution in geography which includes, fairly, criticisms by Tuan and others that much 'mental mapping' was really just the cartographic representation of public opinion surveys. In the final chapters of the book. Potter attempts to demonstrate the usefulness of perception-based planning by reviewing his own work in the Caribbean nations of Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and St Lucia. We are presented with a variety of case studies focusing on such things as 'residential desirability surfaces' (i.e. where would you hke to live maps?) in relation to planned growth poles and other economic development strategies. All in all, there is rather more information on these countries than is really needed to make the points but I did not mind too much as it is pretty good regional geography. Unfortunately, while Potter reviews many interesting techniques for getting at the tricky business of perception (such as personal construct theory, etc.) most of his Caribbean findings land pretty close to the 'cartographic representation of public opinion surveys' category. Nevertheless, we get the picture. Potter includes three appendices of interview schedules, one for each of the countries studied. Since they are quite similar, one would have been enough. Finally there is a very good 24-page bibliography. This is a good book but by no means a tour de force. I will use it from time to time.