Socio-economic status and fertility decline: Insights from historical transitions in Europe and North America

• Published in: Population studies Vol. 71; no. 1; pp. 3 - 21
• Main Authors: Dribe, Martin, Breschi, Marco, Gagnon, Alain, Gauvreau, Danielle, Hanson, Heidi A., Maloney, Thomas N., Mazzoni, Stanislao, Molitoris, Joseph, Pozzi, Lucia, Smith, Ken R., Vézina, Hélène
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Routledge 01-03-2017; Routledge Taylor & Francis Group; Population Investigation Committee, London School of Economics and Political Science
• Subjects: adjustment; Adult; Agricultural economics; Class differences; Economic analysis; Economic History; Economic models; Economics and Business; Ekonomi och näringsliv; Ekonomisk historia; Europe; Farmers; Female; Fertility; Fertility decline; fertility transition; Humans; innovation; longitudinal data; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mathematical models; Middle Aged; North America; Populations; Samhällsvetenskap; Social Class; Social Sciences; socio-economic status; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; Socioeconomics; Upper class; Workers; Young Adult; North America; Europe; innovation; adjustment; fertility transition; socio-economic status; fertility; longitudinal data
• ISSN: 0032-4728; 1477-4747; 1477-4747
• DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2016.1253857

The timings of historical fertility transitions in different regions are well understood by demographers, but much less is known regarding their specific features and causes. In the study reported in this paper, we used longitudinal micro-level data for five local populations in Europe and North America to analyse the relationship between socio-economic status and fertility during the fertility transition. Using comparable analytical models and class schemes for each population, we examined the changing socio-economic differences in marital fertility and related these to common theories on fertility behaviour. Our results do not provide support for the hypothesis of universally high fertility among the upper classes in pre-transitional society, but do support the idea that the upper classes acted as forerunners by reducing their fertility before other groups. Farmers and unskilled workers were the latest to start limiting their fertility. Apart from these similarities, patterns of class differences in fertility varied significantly between populations.