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Social class and the fertility transition: a critical comment on the statistical results reported in Simon Szreter's Fertility, class and gender in Britain, 1860–1940

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  • Geoffrey A. Barnes
  • Timothy W. Guinnane

Abstract

Simon Szreter’s book Fertility, Class, and Gender in Britain, 1860-1940 argues that social and economic class fails to explain the cross-sectional differences in marital fertility as reported in the 1911 census of England and Wales. Szreter’s conclusion made the book immediately influential, and it remains so. This finding matters a great deal for debates about the causes of the European fertility decline of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For decades scholars have argued whether the main forces at work were ideational or social and economic. This note reports a simple re-analysis of Szreter’s own data, which suggests that social class does explain cross-sectional differences in English marital fertility in 1911.
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  • Geoffrey A. Barnes & Timothy W. Guinnane, 2012. "Social class and the fertility transition: a critical comment on the statistical results reported in Simon Szreter's Fertility, class and gender in Britain, 1860–1940," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 65(4), pages 1267-1279, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ehsrev:v:65:y:2012:i:4:p:1267-1279
    DOI: 10.1111/ehr.2012.65.issue-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul David & Thomas Mroz & Warren Sanderson & Kenneth Wachter & David Weir, 1988. "Cohort parity analysis: Statistical estimates of the extent of fertility control," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 25(2), pages 163-188, May.
    2. Samuel H. Preston & Michael R. Haines, 1991. "Fatal Years: Child Mortality in Late Nineteenth-Century America," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number pres91-1, May.
    3. Timothy W. Guinnane, 2011. "The Historical Fertility Transition: A Guide for Economists," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 589-614, September.
    4. John C. Brown & Timothy W. Guinnane, 2007. "Regions and time in the European fertility transition: problems in the Princeton Project’s statistical methodology1," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 60(3), pages 574-595, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin Dribe & Francesco Scalone, 2014. "Social class and net fertility before, during, and after the demographic transition: A micro-level analysis of Sweden 1880-1970," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(15), pages 429-464.
    2. Hannaliis Jaadla & Alice Reid & Eilidh Garrett & Kevin Schürer & Joseph Day, 2020. "Revisiting the Fertility Transition in England and Wales: The Role of Social Class and Migration," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1543-1569, August.
    3. Simon Szreter, 2015. "Fertility, social class, gender, and the professional model: statistical explanation and historical significance," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(2), pages 707-722, May.
    4. Sebastian Klüsener & Martin Dribe & Francesco Scalone, 2019. "Spatial and Social Distance at the Onset of the Fertility Transition: Sweden, 1880–1900," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(1), pages 169-199, February.
    5. Tony Fahey, 2017. "The Sibsize Revolution and Social Disparities in Children’s Family Contexts in the United States, 1940–2012," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 813-834, June.
    6. Tony Fahey, 2015. "Family Patterns and Social Inequality among Children in the United States 1940-2012: A Re-assessment," Working Papers 201523, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    7. Tony Fahey, 2014. "Family Size as a Social Leveller for Children in the Second Demographic Transition," Working Papers 201413, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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