Lazat Spankulova,
professor of Kazakh National University named after al-Farabi, senior doctorate of economics
THE IMPACT OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF LIFE ON THE BIRTH RATE IN KAZAKHSTAN
In the global experience not only the economic growth is very important but the demographic situation is also considered as a crucial factor. The features of natality’s growth appear as a relevant factor of economically active population’s reproduction. The low birth rate is not only a few of children. The future perspective of low birth rate means small number of potential consumers of economics and less labor capable youngsters. In the conditions of low birth rate the demand for accommodation decreases and the number of people who are ready for business risks falls down. In the modern society people are estimated on the base of their economic productiveness.
The economics influences on the birth rate through the plenty of channels not directly. Historically the evolution of natality is caused by the socio-economic development of society. The chronicles of population’s reproduction in Kazakhstan begins from the population census in 1897. That’s why the reproductive processes of population of Kazakhstan started in the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th centuries. The highest birth rate was recorded in the population census in 1959. In Kazakh SSR in average a woman had seven children, in the next years the birth rate was invariably decreasing. This high birth rate was caused by the industrial progress, development of virgin and agricultural lands in 1954-1956, that led the large arrival of young people in the age of 20-35 years especially young men.
The fall of birth rate to the lowest point occurred in the period of Great Homeland War (World War 2) in the end 40es. The demographical misbalance was caused by the wars, repressions general short life expectancy and high mortality rate of men in comparison with women. In all industrial countries men’s life expectancy is shorter than women’s. But there are sever exceptions. For example, in the 70es of 20th century in the states of third world like Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Kampuchea, Northern Volta the industrialization hadn’t destroying results for men’s life.
There are two main points of view about the problem of birth rate decrease and population’s reproduction. The first approach – the birth rate decrease is explained by a gap between the growing needs and its’ possibilities of satisfaction. The bease of second approach is the conception the impact of material and cultural factor on birth rate. Material and cultural factors act in opposite destinations. Under the circumstances of life level’s improvement the material factor characterizes the increase of material opportunities of needs’ satisfaction in children. The second factor is concerned to the changes of the whole needs’ system, because it creates new demands. The interaction of these two trends causes the final changes of birth rate. With the life level’s improvement the birth rate falls down, because the cultural level rises with the profit’s growth, and with the cultural level’s rise the moral responsibility of parents for children’s up growing becomes much harder. Nowadays the coefficient of birth rate decreases not only because of small number of born children, but because of the birth in the end of reproductive age, that means the period of children’s birth becomes shorter. The current birth rate decrease is also explained by the developing sense of loneliness, individualism, self-realization’s inspiration.
The trend of citizens’ number’s increase among the population of republic also caused the decrease of birth rate coefficient. The birth rate was lower in cities, not in counties. The urban women stopped the birth after the first child, but the county women after the second or third.
In some families the traditions of many children’s birth, which cause the high birth rate, are still reserved, on the other hand, cultural level’s improvement connected with needs’ increase, professional occupation of women cause the birth rate’s decrease. There are conservatism of longtime traditions and the features of economics. The most significant reasons of low birth rate are low profits, dissatisfaction by accommodation facilities, unemployment and linked center-aimed educational and labor migration, the loss of job during prettiness for women, small number of kinder gardens, small amount of children’s welfare, mortality in reproductive age, orientation of some part of society to the few-children family.
Such factors like increase of married women’s number in active reproductive ages can influence in the birth rate increase. It can be achieved by the early marriage, the decrease of never married women, the strengthening of family. The factor of marriage birth, the strengthening of family strong relations between family members in decision to have the second child or more children has significant role. The factors of men and women’s number’s correspondence, especially in young ages, the attitude of population to marriage and family, interest to other values (education and specialization, profession) influence on the decision to marry and create a family. One of the main factors of marriage partner’s selection is a principle of homogenous, which means that the marriage between the individuals with similar individual features are more possible, than the marriage between the individuals are very different.
Definitely, the role of education in marriage partner selection is very important too. The American scholar Bruce Ackland, talking about the role of education in marriage partner selection, pointed out that in his opinion “the half of social class similarity in marriage provides the authentic marriage by education”. One of the factors that influences on the birth rate is an educational level of population. Evidently, with the population’s educational level’s improvement of women, the level of birth falls down. The global trend of birth rate’s decrease is convenient to the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The necessity of process of the demographical transformation from spontaneous birth to the conscious regulation has no doubt.
It is very important to define the socio-psychological mechanism of birth, which is connected with transformation of reproductive behavior, the change of life style of large part of population and the level of population’s socio-economic development. Definitely, the process of reproductive regulations’ formation started among the population, which are aimed to birth’s restriction and limitation, especially in big cities, industrial centers and highly urbanized zones.
The state considers population as a priceless capital. That’s why the government of Kazakhstan is going to have significant steps in population’s social protection’s strengthening. The current policy in the sphere of healthcare is accompanied by the level of human’s capital’s increase.
The development of processes of population’s reproduction in republic during the 20th century was complicated by the consequences of war, forced collectivization of peasants and starvation, repressions of totalitarian regime of Soviet Union. These cataclysms influenced on the temps of population’s development and deformed its age-gender structure. The decrease of birth rate and mortality rate is a result of progress, which are connected with status of women.
By this reason the necessity of working out of new policy on health economics, not only in sense of mother and child’s care, but much wider, which includes the transformation into healthy life style, decrease of aborts, early marriages’ propaganda, careful preservation of national traditions and sacredness of family home, and the development of self-preservation’s culture.
