Further reactions to Blake and Das Gupta’s “The fallacy of the five million women
A re-estimate”
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10970311 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Warren Osborn (University of Toronto), Richard Osborn (University of Toronto, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1973 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 673-677 |
| Publication date | 1973-11-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Demography (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0070-3370 • E-ISSN: 1533-7790 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2060892 |
| PMID | 4804744 |
| OpenAlex | W1976601252 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
The author calls into question certain aspects of the model used by Blake and Da Gupta to support their thesis that a much smaller number of women (1.2 million) are in need of family planning services than the numbers estimated by Campbell (4.6 million). The major difference in numbers between the 2 estimates relates to the exclusion by Blake and Das Gupta of 2.6 million women who were either using a reliable method of contraception or were against family limitation. The questionable as sumptions and techniques used by Blake and Das Gupta are placed in 2 broad catagories: 1) problems in the use of attitudinal fertility data; and 2) a disagreement over the nature of 5-year family planning plans with Campbell regarding them as broad involvements utilizing a variety of inputs and vehicles for providing family planning supplies. Data considered particularly unreliable as a basis for estimating the number of women in need of contraceptive services are those: 1) dealing with desired family size; 2) determining the basis for selecting women with negative attitudes toward family planning; and 3) oblivious of the fact that many users of contraceptives are in fact unsuccessful family planners. The author reestimates the total number of women in need of family planning services as 2.8 million
Epistemology · Fallacy · Geography · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Global Maternal and Child Health · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
|---|