In this paper, we evaluate the quality of survey data collected by the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project by investigating four potential sources of bias: sample representativeness, interviewer effects, response unreliability and sample attrition. We discuss the results of our...

In this paper we present a newly-developed interactive elicitation methodology to collect probabilistic expectations in a developing country context with low levels of literacy and numeracy, and we evaluate the feasibility and success of this method for a wide range of outcomes in rural Malawi....

Longitudinal household data can have considerable advantages over much more widely used cross-sectional data for capturing dynamic demographic relationships. Because the collection of longitudinal data may be difficult and expensive, analysts need to assess the magnitude of the particular...

Special Collection 1: Social Interactions and HIV/AIDS in Rural Africa is a set of papers stemming from the conference "Research on Demographic Aspects of HIV/AIDS in Rural Africa", held at the Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, October 28, 2002. The aim of the conference was...

Empirical studies of the diffusion of modern methods of family planning have increasing incorporated social interaction within nonlinear models such as logits. But they have not considered the full implications of these nonlinear specifications. This paper considers the implications of using...

Gender preferences may have substantial implications for a couple’s fertility behavior. However, there is only limited empirical research investigating this subject in modern Western societies. In this paper, data from the Fertility and Family Surveys are used to compare 17 European...

In this paper we apply tempo-adjusted period parity progression ratios (Kohler and Ortega 2002) to Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain. These countries represent three distinct demographic patterns in contemporary Europe and are of particular interest for demographers. The goal of our analyses is...

The extent and structure of sexual networks have important consequences for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. However, very few datasets currently exist that allow a detailed investigation of sexual networks in sub-Saharan African settings where HIV epidemics have become...

In the absence of HIV testing, how do rural Malawians assess their HIV status? In this paper, we use a unique dataset that includes respondents’ HIV status as well as their subjective likelihood of HIV infection. These data show that many rural Malawians overestimate their likelihood of...

In this paper we introduce a new set of tempo-adjusted period parity progression measures in order to account for two distinct implications caused by delays in childbearing: tempo distortions imply an underestimation of the quantum of fertility in observed period data, and the fertility aging...