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加尔各答是印度最大的城市，拥有460万人口，遍布于1380平方公里的地区。约三分之一的城市人口达150万都居住在贫民窟。超过40%的加尔各答贫民窟的居民已经成为棚户区，有了两代甚至更多代，一半以上的人来自加尔各答腹地。此外，还有来自邻国比哈尔，贾坎德邦，北方邦、奥里萨邦等地的移民。约37%的贫民窟人口从事经济活动，其中多达86%的人是边际工人。女性工人的比例甚至更低（12%）。

一个有趣的发现是，在加尔各答贫民窟的识字水平是66%，而对应的女性贫民窟人口的数字是60%。这没有明显低于全国城市平均水平70%。由于相对较高的文化水平，研究人员已发现高避孕率在贫民窟居民并不奇怪，一个现代和不可逆转方法的偏好，如消毒杀菌（Sen，2001；Chattopadhyay等人，2004）。Biswas等人是唯一的例外（1991）。人口健康调查数据最新（2005-06）报道，在加尔各答的避孕药具的使用（目前已婚妇女77%）高于其他城市。这表明避孕使用模式的分析在加尔各答贫民窟一个有趣的研究领域。

Calcutta is one of the largest metropolitan cities in India, with a population of 4.6 million, spread over an area of 1380 sq kms. About a third of the city's population, amounting to 1.5 million, live in slums。Over 40 per cent of Calcutta's slum residents have been slum dwellers for two generations or longer, and more than half originate from the Calcutta hinterland. In addition, there are also migrants from neighboring states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. About 37 percent of the slum population is engaged in economic activities, of which as many as 86 percent are marginal workers. The proportion of female workers is even lower (12 percent).

An interesting finding is that the literacy level in Calcutta slums is 66 percent, while the corresponding figure for the female slum population is 60 percent. This is not markedly below the national urban average of 70 percent. Given the relatively high literacy levels, it is not surprising that researchers have generally found high contraceptive prevalence rate among slum-dwellers, with a preference for modern and irreversible methods, like sterilization (Sen, 2001; Chattopadhyay et al., 2004). The only exception is Biswas et al. (1991). The latest wave of Demographic Health Survey data (2005-06) reports that contraceptive use in Calcutta (77 percent of currently married women) is higher than in other cities surveyed. This indicates analysis of contraceptive use patterns in Calcutta slums an interesting area of study.

This paper is an attempt to understand contraceptive use patterns and its determinants in Calcutta slums. We argue that given the economic vulnerability of the study group - Kundu (2003) estimates that about three quarters of the slum populationare below the pverty line while the low workforce participation levels have been noted earlier - economic considerations will be important in determining contraceptive use. In particular, in line with the microeconomic models of fertility (Becker 1977, Willis 1973), it is argued that slum-dwellers will try to limit their family (to prevent thin spreading of resources over a large family in the current period) but will try to have at least one son in order to ensure economic security in the long run. This implies that if a son is borne a typical slum couple will be more likely to adopt contraceptive than if a girl is borne.

数据库和方法论-2. Database and Methods

The paper is based on unit level Demographic Health Survey (DHS) data. This survey, undertaken in 2005-2006, is the third in a series of national surveys. In DHS-3, the initial target sample size was 8500 completed interviews with ever-married women. Applying city-level filters, the data on Calcutta's female population was extracted from the DHS-3 data set. It