In measuring birth rate, we need to control for the effect of population composition. One such measure would be a standardized birth rate, which crude birth rate standardized for age and sex composition. The crude birth rate in Korea fell
dramatically
form 1960 to the recent year; from 43.0 in 1961 to 16.5 in 1993 as a decline of 61.6%. A question about this decline in crude birth rate is whether the result from real declines in the fertility of married women or changes in population
structure.
In order to measure to assess the trends in fertility, the present study computed standardized birth rates. The crude birth rates between 1970 and 1980 declined by 20.7% 1980 and 1993 by 29.5%, and 1970 and 1993 by 44.1% respectively. If
population
structure of 1970 remained constant to 1980, the birth rate in 1993 have fallen 8.8 instead of 16.5, declined about 70% instead of 44.1%.
An illustrating the dramatic effects of the population composition is note that if the age structure of 1993 had prevailed in 1970 the birth rate would have been 55.1 instead of 29.5, without of no change in age specific fertility. Therefore. for
the
period 1970-1993 almost 59% of the birth rate decline was due to the changed age structure.
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