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A “Great Divergence” in Fertility?

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Low Fertility Regimes and Demographic and Societal Change

Abstract

This chapter discusses post-transitional levels of fertility and between-country fertility differences in advanced societies. It focuses on Europe, North America, Oceania and East Asia and illustrates the “great divergence” in fertility between a group of countries with fertility close to replacement and a group of countries with fertility close to one child per couple. The latter group of countries is characterized by a weaker position of young people, and relatively weaker levels of well-being and/or gender equality. Analyses will help to outline the conditions under which the group of countries that are diverging to a lower level might “join the club” of those with fertility near replacement.

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  1. Department of Policy Analysis and Public Management and Carlo F. Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policies, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

    Francesco C. Billari

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Correspondence to Francesco C. Billari .

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  1. Department of Sociology, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Dudley L. Poston, Jr.

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Billari, F.C. (2018). A “Great Divergence” in Fertility?. In: Poston, Jr., D. (eds) Low Fertility Regimes and Demographic and Societal Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64061-7_2

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