The birthrate drop in Iran.

The recent steep decline in Iran's birthrate poses methodological and interpretive challenges insofar as statistical information on demographic factors cannot satisfactorily establish causalities or delineate processes of change. Our research suggests that this decline rests on the interplay of socio-cultural "idea" variables that augment factors of the developmental paradigm commonly used in population studies. Especially modernist ideas labeled "progress" in Iran have influenced reproductive behavior. Aiming to demonstrate the usefulness of idea-oriented qualitative research for understanding demographic dynamics represented quantitatively in the literature, we contribute to an explanation of a particular case as well as to demographic research methods.