Using the probabilistic fertility table to test the statistical significance of fertility trends
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25336/P6FP4FKeywords:
childbearing uncertainty, probabilistic fertility table, fertility trend, significance test, CanadaAbstract
At below replacement level, fertility changes are subtle and complex; distinguishing statistically significant trends from random shifts is becoming a relevant issue. The probabilistic fertility table describes the uncertainty of the childbearing process, and provides a significance test for the annual changes of various fertility measures, which is essential for distinguishing a statistically significant change from a random fluctuation. This paper provides an analytical model for the total fertility of the probabilistic fertility table, and extends the significance test to period trends that include multiple annual changes. The extended significance test indicates that complex annual changes could accumulate to become a significant trend. Applying the analytical model and extended test to the total fertility of Canada, it indicates that the 2002–11 increase trend is statistically significant and, therefore, supports project future increases of total fertility.
En-dessous du seuil de remplacement des générations, les changements à la fertilité sont subtils et complexes. Aussi, il est devenu pertinent de pouvoir distinguer les tendances significatives au plan statistique des écarts aléatoires. Le tableau probabiliste de fertilité décrit l’incertitude liée au processus de reproduction et fournit un critère de signification des changements annuels dans les diverses mesures de fertilité, élément essentiel pour distinguer un changement important au plan statistique des fluctuations aléatoires. Cet article fournit un modèle analytique pour l’ensemble du tableau probabiliste de fertilité et élargit la portée de cette mesure aux tendances dans le temps incluant les multiples changements annuels. Ce critère élargi indique que les changements complexes annuels peuvent représenter une tendance significative. En appliquant le modèle analytique et le critère au tableau de fertilité du Canada, on constate que la tendance à la hausse de 2002–11 est importante au plan statistique et, par conséquent, augure des hausses futures dans la fertilité totale.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Nan Li
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The following copyright statement applies to content published in Volumes 1 - 45 of Canadian Studies in Population.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).