Studies of fertility trends and determinants in developed countries are high on demographers’ research agenda. The interest in this subject is probably, to a large extent, motivated by a notion about low fertility being problematic, but demographers have not been much engaged in efforts...

In this paper we investigate the effectiveness of family policies in the context of the structure of a society. We use an agent-based model to analyse the impact of policies on individual fertility decisions and on fertility at the aggregate level. The crucial features of our model are the...

Together with three colleagues, I have been asked by the MPIDR to debate the following question: “Should governments in Europe be more aggressive in pushing for gender equality to raise fertility? Setting aside the “lighthearted†side of this “Rostocker Debate,†(12...

This paper argues against the suggestion that governments should push for gender equality more aggressively in order to raise fertility. The paper presents a threefold “no†to this proposal. It takes issue with the goal of raising fertility, arguing that the claims that fertility must...

This study aims to describe the process of birth postponement and recovery in Italy, a country with persistent very low fertility levels. The case of Italy is particularly significant given that this country carries great demographic weight in "Southern Europe"; an area characterized by cultural...

In this paper we apply tempo-adjusted period parity progression ratios (Kohler and Ortega 2002) to Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain. These countries represent three distinct demographic patterns in contemporary Europe and are of particular interest for demographers. The goal of our analyses is...

This paper observes the change since the 1970s in the proportion of men and women having only one child during their reproductive life, and examines their sociodemographic characteristics. The aim is to explore the significant variables of the complement of the parity progression ratio from...

In this paper we introduce a new set of tempo-adjusted period parity progression measures in order to account for two distinct implications caused by delays in childbearing: tempo distortions imply an underestimation of the quantum of fertility in observed period data, and the fertility aging...

This study furthers the epistemological development of anthropological demography, and its role in understanding the demography of Europe. Firstly we situate anthropological demography against the context of an evolving world of research in which boundaries between academic disciplines have...