Socioeconomic status and fertility: Insights from historical transitions in Europe and North America

One of the major demographic changes during the past 200 years is the emergence of the two-child norm as part of the creation of the modern family. Although the process of fertility decline in the West has received considerable attention in demographic research, most of the research has been macro oriented. For this reason, we know a great deal about the timing of the fertility transition in different regions, but less about specific features and causes. The aim of this paper is to use longitudinal micro-level data for seven local populations in Europe and North America in the 19th and 20th centuries to further elaborate on the role of socioeconomic factors in the fertility transition. By applying identical analytical models and social class schemes we are able to study the impact of socioeconomic status on fertility before, during and also after the fertility transition. This allows us not only to test hypotheses about the reversal of class differences in the transition, but also to address possible determinants of fertility decline more generally. More specifically we look at the development of socioeconomic differences in marital fertility and relate it to common theories on fertility behavior as adjustment and innovation processes.