Jona Schellekens

Religious differentials in infant and child mortality in Holland, 1855-1912

At least three kinds of hypothesis may be invoked to interpret religious differentials in mortality. They are (i) hypotheses that refer to characteristics, (ii) those that refer to lifestyle, and (iii) those that refer to the social isolation of minorities. This paper tests all three kinds of hypothesis using data on urban child mortality from The Hague just before and during the demographic transition. A hazard analysis suggests that economic and demographic characteristics do not account for much of the variation by religion. An analysis of seasonal mortality suggests that some of the variation may be explained by differences in lifestyle. The third kind of hypothesis is presented here for the first time. We suggest that the social isolation of small religious groups lowered their exposure to certain kinds of infectious disease. We use a simulation study to show that this hypothesis could account for part of the variation.

Religious differentials in marital fertility in The Hague (Netherlands) 1860 /1909

Previous studies of the marital fertility transition in Europe have found religious differentials. Using data collected from the population registers of The Hague, our aim in this study is to search for answers to the following questions: whether religious differentials result from socio-economic characteristics; to what extent religious ideology explains the behaviour of religious groups; which proximate determinants account for the religious differentials; and whether the Jews were forerunners in the marital fertility transition in Europe. The results provide some evidence of relatively low levels of parity-dependent fertility control among Jews before the transition and among Catholics during the transition. Religious ideology probably accounts for the low level of fertility control among Catholics. The ultimate reason for the relatively high marital fertility among Jews before the transition remains unclear. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that Jews were forerunners in the marital fertility transition.

The Transition from High to Low Marital Fertility: Cultural or Socioeconomic Determinants?

The authors test whether socioeconomic variables in England and Wales between 1850 and 1900 are significantly related to decline in fertility during a transitional period marked by no family planning at the onset. In contrast Carlsson study of Swedish fertility decline ascribes the decline to the diffusion approach from urban to rural and adjustment perspective which emphasizes societal setting and boundaries. Knodel and van de Walles macro analysis within the Princeton European Fertility Project (PEFP) presents the view that simultaneity occurs despite a variety of socioeconomic and demographic conditions. Lesthaeghe followed the innovative argument and reports that within the diffusion process cultural barriers put limitations on the extend of fertility. Conversely socioeconomic interpretations have been developed by Teitelbaum who also used the PEFP data and Friedlander in his analysis of 600 districts of England and Wales. Teitelbaum identifies the significance as socioeconomic with cultural variables having separate significant effects at later stages. Friedlanders somewhat different theory indicates that nuptiality marital fertility and migration are micro-interrelated and result from socioeconomic change. Crafts analysis of the 1911 fertility census in England and Wales reveals that spacing and stopping contributed to fertility decline instead of Knodel and van de Walles thesis of stopping being the only significant determinant. The authors analysis of 600 districts of England and Wales validates the adjustment hypothesis by showing that socioeconomic and demographic timing account for variation in timing of marital fertility (R2 = .50). In explaining the diffusion process again with R2 = .54 socioeconomic variables entirely account for the fertility change dependent variable with no effect from the cultural variable. This was substantiated in repeated trials at regional levels also testing the strength of the language variable. Further testing of the mode of transmission from urban to rural indicated the fertility change variable was not negatively related to the urban proximity variable including a separate regression for just London and environs. The Carlsson diffusion hypothesis is rejected. 24 repeated stepwise regressions were performed confirming the importance of the socioeconomic and demographic variables in explaning fertility decline with a minimum of 50% (range 70 - 90%) of the variation explained. Cultural and diffusion variables explain no more than 50% (range 5 - 25%). The largest beta coefficients for all equations with demographic and socioeconomic variables. The Lesthaeghe border hypothesis is also not substantiated. The Framework of Social Structure and Fertility is advanced as the significant analytical construct for understanding fertility decline. Notwithstanding the English experience other recent studies are reviewed which support the socioeconomic interpretation and suggestion is made to further research effort in this direction.

Wages, secondary workers, and fertility: a working-class perspective of the fertility transition in England and Wales.

The focus of the analysis in this study is on the economic benefits parents derive from their children and the impact of these on fertility transitions. Particular attention is given to the working class in Victorian England and Wales. The life-cycle drop-off in adult productivity among this class created a need for additional income at later stages of the family life-cycle. This income was mostly generated by children and adolescents. Hence, it is suggested, that not until the substantial rise in real wages during the last quarter of the nineteenth century could fertility among the working class in England and Wales have started its decline. This hypothesis is shown to be consistent with data on occupation-specific fertility levels taken from the 1911 Fertility Census.

Mortality and Socio-economic Status in Two Eighteenth-century Dutch Villages

This study is an analysis of mortality levels and their patterns of change among different socio-economic groups in two eighteenth-century Dutch villages. In these two villages – Gilze and Rijen – there were substantial mortality differentials between farmers and agricultural labourers. Mortality differentials of this magnitude have not been found in other European villages, although they are not unheard of in cities. The differentials are probably unrelated to malnutrition, or a polluted water supply among the lower class. Relative overcrowding and poor hygiene are more probable causes. During the second half of the eighteenth century mortality levels were lower, especially among the lower class. These changes, however, did not result from a higher standard of living. They were probably related to a diminution in the amount of military activity on land in Europe after the War of the Austrian Succession.

Family allowances and fertility: socioeconomic differences.

This article explores socioeconomic differences in the effect of family allowances on fertility. Although several studies have examined the relationship between cash benefits and fertility, few studies have addressed the possible differential effects of cash benefits on families of different income or education levels. I reconstructed the birth histories of women in the past two Israeli censuses of 1983 and 1995 to study socioeconomic differences in the effect of family allowances up to the seventh parity. The results indicate that family allowances have a significant effect at every parity. Using female education as an indicator of socioeconomic status, I find that socioeconomic status is a significant modifier of the effect of family allowances. Family allowances seem to have a relatively large impact on more-educated women.

Marital Fertility Decline in the Netherlands: Child Mortality, Real Wages, and Unemployment, 1860–1939

Previous studies of the fertility decline in Europe are often limited to an earlier stage of the marital fertility decline, when the decline tended to be slower and before the large increase in earnings in the 1920s. Starting in 1860 (before the onset of the decline), this study follows marital fertility trends until 1939, when fertility reached lower levels than ever before. Using data from the Historical Sample of the Netherlands (HSN), this study shows that mortality decline, a rise in real income, and unemployment account for the decline in the Netherlands. This finding suggests that marital fertility decline was an adjustment to social and economic change, leaving little room for attitudinal change that is independent of social and economic change.

Economic Change and Infant Mortality in England, 1580-1837

Adaptation of the results from a recent family-reconstitution study of twenty-six parishes in pre-transition England reveals that long-term trends in post-neonatal mortality follow trends in a real-wage index, and that trends in neonatal mortality correlate with other economic factors. Thus, the hypothesis that infant mortality and economic performance in pre-transition England were related is consistent with the family-reconstitution data.

Determinants of Marriage Patterns Among Farmers and Agricultural Laborers in Two Eighteenth-Century Dutch Villages

Eighteenth-century population listings and church records are used to examine the determinants of marriage patterns in an agricultural population. Using macro-level data it is shown that the availability of mates has relatively little effect on marriage patterns. Using micro-level data it is shown that determinants affect marriage patterns differentially across occupational groups. Special attention is given to explaining marital behavior among agricultural laborers. A determinant of their marriage patterns is suggested which has received little attention so far: the attractiveness of marriage relative to service in husbandry.

Socio-Economic Characteristics and Life Expectancies in Nineteenth-Century England: A District Analysis

This paper presents an analysis of levels of life expectancy and their patterns of change among six socio-economically differentiated sub-populations of England and Wales for the period 1851–1911. Differences in mortality levels among these sub-groups and their rates of change are analyzed with respect to three groups of explanatory variables, viz., environmental, stratification and demographic variables. Their relative importance for different periods is assessed and discussed. The findings show consistency with two previous studies, which have suggested that medical advances had little effect on the increase in life expectancy during the second half of the nineteenth century. The present paper supports the results of one study in that public health measures affected life expectancies earlier, while subsequently, the increase in standards of living was more important.