Jane Menken
University of Colorado Boulder
|
Primary Section: 53, Social and Political Sciences Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1989)
|
Research Interests
As a demographer, my main area of research is fertility. I have developed mathematical models of reproduction and analytic techniques that permit estimation of fertility determinants (e.g. level of sterility, contraceptive effectiveness) in populations. Much of this work focuses on biological determinants of fertility. In addition, I have carried out studies of the increase in sterility as women age, of fertility determinants in Bangladesh, and of teenage pregnancy and childbearing in the United States. More recently I have been involved in studies of mortality among young children and older people as it varies by gender and other characteristics in parts of the world where females have traditionally had higher mortality, rather than the survival advantage enjoyed by women in the developed countries. I am working with a group that has carried out a large scale survey in Bangladesh that is intended to examine changing health as men and women grow older and its relationship to family support networks. We will also be studying the effect of numbers of children on the health and well-being of women as they age, considering two well-known hypotheses. The first is that having many children is advantageous, in that more will be available to provide support in old age. The second is that repeated childbearing under poor conditions leads to poor health that disadvantages high fertility women as they age. Related to my interests in population policy, this study will also be considering the effects of family planning programs on health and other aspects of women's lives.
