This book traces out complex interactions among three critical processes-migration, fertility, and marriage-in a lucid and compelling analysis of rural areas in Central Java. It focuses on how women fare vis-a-vis other household or family members in making major household decisions.

The shift toward the small nuclear family and the emergence of new roles for women have been among the conspicuous changes accompanying economic development and social modernization. The importance of changing autonomy for women in the reduction of control over women's lives by the extended family in the process of development raises questions ab