Historical reproductive patterns in developed countries: Aggregate-level perspective

Chapter 6. The Influence of Childhood Mortality on Subsequent Fertility During the Demographic Transition

“…He also concluded that although at a local level there have been cases when fertility decline precedes that of early-life mortality, there are no cases, where this has been true at the national level and that on average, European mortality decline preceded fertility decline by 40 years (Chesnais, 1992, p. 140-148). Recent scholarship using macro-data has supported the classical understanding of the importance of decreases in early-life mortality for the fertility decline (Sánchez- Barricarte, 2017Barricarte, , 2018.…”

Marital fertility decline and child mortality in the Sardinian longevity Blue Zone

“…Thus, the relationship between the decline in fertility and the decrease in infant mortality is disputed by scholars who have, for example, argued it may be more complex than earlier theories predicted, and could vary between societies (Hirschman 1994). Some authors have argued that broader concepts or a kind of community understanding of how many children are likely to survive to adulthood must be operating in addition to individual choice (Lesthaeghe 1980;Sánchez-Barricarte 2018). Knodel (1988) has observed that a combination of educational factors, social and religious norms, and the availability of contraceptive methods operated indirectly (and presumably unconsciously) to adjust the level of community fertility to the level of community mortality.…”