[Answering the four questions asked by Ruth B. Dixon in Outline of Political Conclusions of Multiple Regressions]. / Contestamos las quatros preguntas de Dixon.

PIP: In response to criticism from Ruth B. Dixon, published on Estudios de Poblacion 3 (7-12), 1978, about their study on the effects of family planning programs on fertility decrease in developing areas, and on its implications on population policies, the authors restate their views, as previously published in an article which appeared in Studies in Family Planning, May 1978. Such views are that: 1) family planning programs efforts are probably not as paramount as the improvement of socioeconomic conditions in causing fertility decrease; 2) it cannot be stated which type of program is the most conducive to fertility decrease; 3) good health and education are the 2 most important factors in improving socioeconomic status; and, 4) the status of women is greatly important in reducing fertility rate.^ieng

Fertility trends: 1950-75.

During the past 25 years, the world's population increased by 60 percent to 4 billion people. The period witnessed a momentous decline in mortality, which will probably continue in the developed countries. Fertility has fallen dramatically in the developed countries to quite low levels. In the developing countries, where the bulk of the world's population is concentrated, fertility is still high, although it has begun to decline in some countries. Reductions in fertility have been dramatic in Asia and the Pacific; substantial in Central and South America; and hardly noticeable in Africa. Increasingly, population policies will be considered as an integral part of social and economic development; and family planning will receive increasing attention as a human right, as an element of improved maternal and child health, and also as a means of moderating high rates of population growth.