ABSTRACT
Fertility transition is recognized both by social scientists and social planners as closely associated with processes of technical and economic change and the policy intervention strategies that frequently accompany development efforts. This chapter shows that cultural change has brought about a decline in cohort fertility. It argues that the strength of the traditional cultural value of the family has prevented the realization of a completed fertility transition. In the mid 1960s the Tunisian Ministry of Health established hospitals and clinics in regional population centers such as Ksar-Hellal to provide free or inexpensive medical services, including family planning services. Since Tunisian independence from France in 1956, residents of Ksar-Hellal have experienced a deliberate government-directed campaign to introduce social and cultural institutions modeled after those of Europe and the United States. Local community endogamy is common throughout Tunisia, and was stongly evident in Ksar-Hellal.
