“CHILDREN ARE THE WEALTH OF THE POOR.” PRONATALISM AND THE ECONOMIC UTILITY OF CHILDREN IN JEAN RABEL, HAITI

Abstract

This article assesses pronatalism in the non-industrialized Caribbean in light of contributions that children make to household production. The place that the economic utility of children has in determining pronatal attitudes and behavior has been increasingly neglected by social scientists. This trend is especially unwarranted in regard to the traditional Caribbean. As an example, it is shown that the primary reason farmers in Jean Rabel, Haiti, are in favor of high birth rates and reject contraceptives is because the farmers conceptualize children as necessary to their economic survival.

Citation

Schwartz, T.T. (2003), "“CHILDREN ARE THE WEALTH OF THE POOR.” PRONATALISM AND THE ECONOMIC UTILITY OF CHILDREN IN JEAN RABEL, HAITI", Dannhaeuser, N. and Werner, C. (Ed.) Anthropological Perspectives on Economic Development and Integration (Research in Economic Anthropology, Vol. 22), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 61-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-1281(03)22003-5