Abstract:

Based on the data of two surveys of the floating peasantworker population in the city of Xiamen， Fujian Province， this paper describes the procreation desire of peasant workers of different generations. The results indicate that the three generations of the old， the transitional， and the new share similar opinions about the best ages for reproduction but differ significantly on the following issues： number of desired children， quality of children， preferred sex of their children， and motives for having children. The regression analysis reveals a complex set of factors that have influenced the procreation desire of the peasant workers of the old and transitional generations， which cluster around educational and reproductive experience variables. As to the peasant workers of the new generation， only the educational variable has been affecting their views on the aforementioned issues. Furthermore， career choice also has an impact on the emotional aspect of the reproductive motive. The role that the married peasant workers’ reproductive experience has played in their reproductive motive will serve as a lesson for the new generation in their reproductive behaviors. Favorable conditions to promote positive reproductive motives and behaviors among the peasant workers of the new generation can be created through education and career enhancement.

Key words: the new generation, the old generation, peasantworkers, procreation desire, the transitional generation