Do shared history and language synchronise fertility rates between regions across countries? Evidence from India and Bangladesh

This study investigates the role that cultural links play in bridging country divide between people across borders in neighbouring countries. The partition of Bengal into West Bengal (in India) and East Bengal (Bangladesh) provided the opportunity to examine the issue of fertility rate given the strong historical link between the people on both sides. In the period between the censuses of 2001 and 2011, our analysis shows that the fertility rates in the border districts of West Bengal and Bangladesh have moved closer to one another. This closeness is more than that between bordering districts of West Bengal and its neighbouring states within India and between bordering districts of Bangladesh and its neighbouring other states of India. The overall message of this study is that the comparative analysis of fertility between and within countries must be put in the context of historical background, cultural link, and socioeconomic development.