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The impact of socio-economic status on net fertility during the historical fertility decline: A comparative analysis of Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and the USA

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  • Martin Dribe
  • J. David Hacker
  • Francesco Scalone

Abstract

We used micro-level data from the censuses of 1900 to investigate the impact of socio-economic status on net fertility during the fertility transition in five Northern American and European countries (Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the USA). The study is therefore unlike most previous research on the historical fertility transition, which used aggregate data to examine economic correlates of demographic behaviour at regional or national levels. Our data included information on number of children by age, occupation of the mother and father, place of residence, and household context. The results show highly similar patterns across countries, with the elite and upper middle classes having considerably lower net fertility early in the transition. These patterns remain after controlling for a range of individual and community-level fertility determinants and geographical unobserved heterogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Dribe & J. David Hacker & Francesco Scalone, 2014. "The impact of socio-economic status on net fertility during the historical fertility decline: A comparative analysis of Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and the USA," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 68(2), pages 135-149, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rpstxx:v:68:y:2014:i:2:p:135-149
    DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2014.889741
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Easterlin, Richard A. & Crimmins, Eileen M., 1985. "The Fertility Revolution," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226180298, April.
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    1. Sharp, Paul & Boberg-Fazlic, Nina & Lampe, Markus & Martinelli Lasheras, Pablo, 2020. "Winners and Losers from Enclosure: Evidence from Danish Land Inequality 1682-1895," CEPR Discussion Papers 14616, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. J. David Hacker & Michael R. Haines & Matthew Jaremski, 2021. "Early Fertility Decline in the United States: Tests of Alternative Hypotheses Using New Complete-Count Census Microdata and Enhanced County-Level Data," Research in Economic History, in: Research in Economic History, volume 37, pages 89-128, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    3. Muhammad Qasim Attari & Zahid Pervaiz & Amatul R. Chaudhary, 2016. "Socioeconomic Determinants Of Fertility: A Cross Districts Analysis Of Punjab, Pakistan," Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 4(2), pages :37-48, December.
    4. J. David Hacker & Evan Roberts, 2017. "The impact of kin availability, parental religiosity, and nativity on fertility differentials in the late 19th-century United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(34), pages 1049-1080.
    5. Boberg-Fazlić, Nina & Lampe, Markus & Martinelli Lasheras, Pablo & Sharp, Paul, 2022. "Winners and losers from agrarian reform: Evidence from Danish land inequality 1682–1895," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    6. Hannaliis Jaadla & Alice Reid & Eilidh Garrett & Kevin Schürer & Joseph Day, 2020. "Revisiting the Fertility Transition in England and Wales: The Role of Social Class and Migration," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1543-1569, August.
    7. Tyler Anbinder & Dylan Connor & Cormac Ó Gráda & Simone Wegge, 2021. "The Problem of False Positives in Automated Census Linking: Evidence from Nineteenth-Century New York's Irish Immigrants," Working Papers 202114, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    8. Johan Junkka, 2018. "Voluntary Associations and Net Fertility During the Swedish Demographic Transition," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(5), pages 819-848, December.
    9. Tony Fahey, 2017. "The Sibsize Revolution and Social Disparities in Children’s Family Contexts in the United States, 1940–2012," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 813-834, June.
    10. Mary Regina Boland, 2018. "A model investigating environmental factors that play a role in female fecundity or birth rate," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-12, November.
    11. Sebastian Klüsener & Martin Dribe & Francesco Scalone, 2019. "Spatial and Social Distance at the Onset of the Fertility Transition: Sweden, 1880–1900," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(1), pages 169-199, February.
    12. Jing Zhao & Zhijie Zou & Jianfei Chen & Yujia Chen & Wanfa Lin & Xianbo Pei & Enjing Li & Yajing Dong & Xiaoli Chen, 2024. "Offline social capital, online social capital, and fertility intentions: evidence from China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.

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