如同南韓、巴西、阿根廷以及其它一些國家屬於近期工業化地區一樣，台灣也是一個新發展起來的工業化地區。台灣的大規模現代化過程始自1950年國民政府的土地改革方案，至今日已成為世界發達地區的一個典型。 眾所周知的人口轉變理論表明，生育率的變化反相關於現代化過程。在過去的三十年裡，台灣的生育率變化也跟隨這種理論模式。 西方的無子女問題研究已經證明，隨著現代化的影響，生育率下降，自願無子女的比例隨之增加。現代化程度高的低生育率地區，其無子女比例同時亦很高，特別是年青婦女更日趨於無子女化。相反的，現代化程度伍的地區，無子女比例則低。 如果以1980年台灣各地區的社會經濟、人口發展的程度、以及在各地區和主要城市的變化為基礎，我們期望的結果是其發展程度高的地區，無子比例平也高；發展程度低的地區，無子女比例則低。我們將使用1980年台灣各地區的人口，住宅調查資料與1980年台灣地區人口統計資料去驗證這種假設。

Taiwan is a newly developed and industrialized area, and along with Korea, Brazil, Argentina and a few other countries belongs in a special class of recently industrialized areas. Taiwan has been undergoing large-scale modernization since the early 1950s when the Nationalist government first began IO implement land-reform programs and today is one of the showcase newly developed areas in the world. We know from demographic transition theory that fertility is negatively associated with modemization. During the past three decades, ferti1ity in Taiwan has followed this pattern in a most dramatic manner. Studies of childlessness conducted in Western countries have shown also that as the modernizing influences continue, fertility declines, and childlessness increases as it becomes more and more voluntary. Subregions with the highest levels of modernization and the lowest fertility rates should therefore be characterized by the highest levels of childlessness, particularly among younger women; and vice versa. Given the levels of socioeconomic and demographic development in Taiwan and its subregions in the circa-1980 period, as well as its variability among the hsiens and major cities, we would expect to find higher levels of chi1dlessness in the more developed localities, and lower levels in the less developed subareas. This hypothesis is tested with data from the 1980 Census of Population and Housing, General Report, Taiwan - Fukien Area (Republic of China, 1982) and the 1980 Taiwan - Fukien Demographic Fact Book (Republic of China, 1980).