In this book the author maintains that fertility declines independently of its “background”. Normally, fertility decline is thought to occur as a result of alteration in the socioeconomic background such as the decline of the infant mortality rate, urbanization, the level of literacy, and so on. This point of view has been regarded as equivalent to “demographic transition”. However, the concept of demographic transition is so superficial, naïve and unscientific that it should be applied merely to the ostensible demographic phenomena, not to the mechanisms of fertility decline. The author regards this way of thinking, i.e., that the occurrence of fertility decline is dependent on socioeconomic background, as the “background dependence” of fertility decline. On the contrary, there is considerable counterevidence to the background dependence of fertility decline. The argument is made that background dependence lacks positive evidence and predictability and consequently, is falsifiable. That decisive counterevidence is introduced in this book. The author revives the diffusion hypothesis of fertility decline at the point of the number of children per couple as the reaction–diffusion process in a mathematical equation. Fertility decline in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries occurred as a reaction–diffusion process independent of socioeconomic background. In Japan as well, fertility (the number of children per couple) declined independently of background. This book provides ample evidences persuasively demonstrating this independence of fertility in Japan. The occurrence of marriage is also independent of socioeconomic background. Thus the author formalizes the marriage function as an integral equation of marriage probability, as a result, it demonstrates a better fit with the observed data than does any other marriage function. Occurrence of marriage is almost solely dependent on the density of marriages that occur in a given subspace.

This report summarizes presentations and discussions at the Workshop on the Social Processes Underlying Fertility Change in Developing Countries, organized by the Committee on Population of the National Research Council (NRC) in Washington, D.C., January 29-30, 1998. Fourteen papers were presented at the workshop; they represented both theoretical and empirical perspectives and shed new light on the role that diffusion processes may play in fertility transition. These papers served as the basis for the discussion that is summarized in this report.

With the collapse of Demographic Transition Theory, new theories of population must not just be explanations, but should be falsifiable theories which can compute the number of occurrences of marriages and births. This book reviews computable marriage and birth function using dynamic properties. To do that, the functions are defined in high dimensional space. The reaction-diffusion equation of the number of children in a space is applied to these phenomena, providing solutions to many problems concerning a decline in fertility. The functions are developed as stochastic maps based on the present behaviors of successive behaviors in a geographical space. As we assume that there is an inter-dependence of human behaviors, we use the law of dynamics concerning the function of marriage and birth. The exact mathematical definition of interactions in a space naturally implies a causal relation. For the function concerning the number of children of parents, two geographical-dimensional spaces are required. The decline in fertility in Belgium due to different languages is explained, and the longer fertility period in Brittany is explained by the Laplacian of the diffusion equation. Depending on the degree of symbolic control over behaviors, we need to add the degree of the dimension of the space. For the marriage function, we add age as a biological dimension to the geographical space. In this higher dimensional space, the mapping from neighboring present marriages to neighboring successive marriages is no less than that of the marriage function. These chain reactions caused the baby boom as an exothermal reaction-diffusion. Birth functions require one to add the marriage-age dimension to two geographical and age dimensions so that it is a five dimensional hypersurface. It can, thus, determine birth probabilities of a female who married at a certain age. The phenomenon of modern fertility decline may only be the result of these chain reactions. These processes are solely dependent upon time-space, and not on socioeconomic conditions. This is the very reason why we are able to predict it mathematically. The book provides a new thinking in fertility decline for demographic research. Readers need to be aware that the fertility decline experienced throughout the modern era is a spatial pattern formation (as a reaction-diffusion). The author hopes new mathematical applications in human activities are developed through these new models.

With the emergence of fertility declines in the greater part of the developing world, study of the phenomenon has increased profoundly over the last three decades, and a voluminous amount of literature has emerged. Yet our knowledge of the decline is scattered in numerous publications, making sources difficult to find. This bibliography provides a guide to the literature on fertility decline in Latin America, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It will be an invaluable asset for population experts and students wishing to do research on fertility decline. Covering the literature from 1960 to 1997, the book draws on extensive sources including books, articles in leading population journals, research papers, and dissertations. The opening chapter covers the literature on theories and concepts underlying fertility decline. The next three chapters are devoted to the major geographical areas—Latin America, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa—and the final chapter looks at general literature on fertility declines in developing countries.

This is the second in a series of monographs on the historic decline of European fertility to be issued by the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. It is a detailed statistical description and analysis of the transition from high to low birth rates which took place in Germany between Unification and the beginning of World War II. It assembles an exceptionally comprehensive amount of evidence that will be of great importance to social historians as well as sociologists and demographers. John E. Knodel relies on modern yet simple methods of measuring the main demographic trends in Germany and uses straightforward methods to test the plausibility of the many hypotheses that have been advanced to explain the great falls in fertility that occurred throughout the western world in the late nineteenth century. Originally published in 1974. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Building on the theory of the demographic transition, Michael S. Teitelbaum assesses the dramatic decline in British fertility from 1841 to 1931 in terms of social transformations associated with the Industrial Revolution. His book is an intensive analysis of the British case at both county and national levels. Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This volume challenges the orthodox position on two of the main themes in fertility transition studies: the inevitable link between fewer children and quality of life and the focus on women as the sole important objects of study. In an era of unprecedented fertility decline, there is increasing concern about the lessening worldwide role that men play in the upbringing of children. The immense worldwide variation in the timing and sequencing of a man's life course events, the rise and fall in personal forunes, and the weight of society's hierarchies, all combine to affect the number of children a man fathers, when he fathers them, the number of partners he fathers them with, and the kind of support and recognition he bestows on them. The cross-disciplinary approach favoured here, including ethnographies, national surveys, and historical texts, avoids the narrow focus of many fertility studies texts. By providing detailed studies on a variety of countries ranging from Germany to Papua New Guinea, the contributors build an accurate picture of the global situation, while two Overview chapters give a wider perspective, and the Introduction synthesizes the themes identified and conclusions reached.

The United States has gone off track, allowing domestic and foreign aid policies to be co-opted by a government—abetted by mass media—that serves special interests rather than the greater national good. Americans' tendencies to trust, play fair, and help have been abused and require replacement by a realistic outlook. The Vanishing American Dream posits solutions to get America back on the right track. Abernethy sees population growth driven by mass immigration as a major cause of economic and cultural changes that have been detrimental to most Americans. The environment has been degraded by over-crowding and increasing demands on natural resources. Work is cheapened by explosive growth in the labour force creating a buyer's market. One salary or wage no longer supports a family and educates children. Women working outside the home is a necessity, not a choice, for most American families. Furthermore, feminism, aimed originally at balanced gender roles, has been turned viciously against males of all ages and ultimately against females through degrading their traditional and valuable contributions. Abernethy proposes that Americans need time to regroup, untroubled by a continuing influx of foreign peoples. The family, small business, and responsive local government are centres around which a solvent and confident citizenry can prosper again.