An individual's or couple's decisions on when to have children or start a family may also have social and economic consequences on the community at large. RAND's family planning research spans various populations and socioeconomic backgrounds in Western as well as developing countries and addresses such topics as fertility and infertility, birth control, abortion, reproductive technologies, child welfare, household economic security, and community impact.
Research conducted by:
RAND Labor and Population;
RAND Health;
RAND Europe
Research Briefs (9)
Details the results of a preliminary investigation into whether Assisted Reproductive Technologies can play a part in preventing European countries from falling into the low-fertility trap.
Examines the main critiques of family planning programs and places these in historical context. Also examines the research record to assess the validity of these criticisms and to document how programs have evolved in response to these criticisms.
The better family planning services prevented abortion rates from increasing in a setting in which they otherwise might have.
Examines the historical causes underlying traditionally high abortion rates in Russia, the contribution of family planning programs in recent years to reducing abortion rates, and prospects for continued improvement.
The survey results suggest that attitudes toward abortion exert only a minor influence in shaping the American public's attitude toward family planning.
The report focused on three issues: fertility trends in developing countries and their implications, the value of family planning programs, and program costs and donor support.
Controlling for access to services, education is a powerful predictor of both fertility and contraceptive use, particularly among younger women, who have benefited from the large increase in education opportunities since independence.
A new RAND study conducted for the World Bank suggests that, for countries like Indonesia with a well-developed family-planning infrastructure, further investments are best directed toward improving women's educational and employment prospects.
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