This volume summarizes the major findings of the Princeton European Fertility Project. The Project, begun in 1963, was a response to the realization that one of the great social revolutions of the last century, the remarkable decline in marital fertility in Europe, was still poorly understood. Originally published in 1986. 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 summarizes the major findings of the Princeton European Fertility Project. The Project, begun in 1963, was a response to the realization that one of the great social revolutions of the last century, the remarkable decline in marital fertility in Europe, was still poorly understood. Originally published in 1986. 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.

Recent statistics suggest that fertility in Europe shows signs of recovery after decades of year-on-year drops. This report updates a study on low fertility from 2004 and explores the extent, causes and consequences of the recent recovery.

The fertility rate has dramatically declined across Europe in recent years. Globally, over sixty-four countries have fallen below generation replacement levels and countries in eastern and southern Europe are registering the lowest birth rates in the history of humanity. Demographers emphasize that these developments could have serious repercussions for society and public policy - from a projected drastic loss of national population numbers to labor shortages and a swelling population of over-65s. Typically, analysts have approached the issue of low fertility quantitatively and from state levels. As a result, most research tends to elide any nuanced understanding of this significant trend. Filling a major gap, this timely book goes well beyond existing studies to investigate how people experience, understand and speak about what is called "low fertility." On the individual level, is there such a thing? How do people understand their choices and the perceived limitations on their lives? What is the meaning of motherhood for women today? How has the definition of "family" changed? What are the particularities of fertility decline in each country? And, perhaps most importantly, what does this tendency toward fewer births mean to the women and men who ultimately become demographic statistics? Offering new readings and a much deeper understanding of Europe's decline in fertility, this exciting book adds the voices of everyday people to previous state-centered studies. Overturning a number of assumptions, case studies show that having fewer children is often understood positively in Europe as a means to freedom and self-empowerment. Anyone wishing to understand what low fertility means to the people who live it will find this book essential reading.

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.