title: Ecological variation in wealth-fertility relationships in Mongolia: the 'central theoretical problem of sociobiology' not a problem after all?
abstract: The negative wealth-fertility relationship brought about by market integration remains a puzzle to classic evolutionary models. Evolutionary ecologists have argued that this phenomenon results from both stronger trade-offs between reproductive and socioeconomic success in the highest social classes and the comparison of groups rather than individuals. Indeed, studies in contemporary low fertility settings have typically used aggregated samples that may mask positive wealth-fertility relationships. Furthermore, while much evidence attests to trade-offs between reproductive and socioeconomic success, few studies have explicitly tested the idea that such constraints are intensified by market integration. Using data from Mongolia, a post-socialist nation that underwent mass privatization, we examine wealth-fertility relationships over time and across a rural-urban gradient. Among post-reproductive women, reproductive fitness is the lowest in urban areas, but increases with wealth in all regions. After liberalization, a demographic-economic paradox emerges in urban areas: while educational attainment negatively impacts female fertility in all regions, education uniquely provides socioeconomic benefits in urban contexts. As market integration progresses, socio-economic returns to education increase and women who limit their reproduction to pursue education get wealthier. The results support the view that selection favoured mechanisms that respond to opportunities for status enhancement rather than fertility maximization.
authors.affiliation: School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, Oxford University, Oxford OX2 6PE, UK Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK Harris Manchester College, Oxford OX1 3TD, UK alexandra.alvergne@anthro.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alvergne
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
authors.forename: Virpi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lummaa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D008986:Mongolia; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012098:Reproduction; D012923:Social Class; D035503:Sociobiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: contraception; demographic–economic paradox; life-history trade-offs; socio-economic success; somatic capital