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Social structure and U.S. inter-state fertility differentials in 1900
Demography
|November 1, 1981
Summary
Societal modernization, particularly urbanization and industrialization, significantly reduced fertility rates in the U.S. around 1900. Agricultural land availability had minimal impact on marital fertility but influenced marriage patterns.
Area of Science:
- Demography
- Sociology
- Economic History
Background:
- Investigates the drivers of inter-state fertility differentials in the United States during 1900, a period of demographic transition.
- Examines the relative importance of agricultural land availability versus societal modernization factors.
Observation:
- Urbanization and manufacturing characteristics were the strongest correlates of total fertility variations.
- Modern societal characteristics influenced marital fertility independently of the urban-industrial system.
- Low child labor and farm mechanization correlated with depressed marital fertility.
Findings:
- Urban-industrialism significantly depressed both marriage probability and marital fertility.
- Agricultural land opportunity had a minor effect on marital fertility but was crucial for understanding marriage patterns.
- Modernization, not land availability, was the primary driver of fertility differentials.
Implications:
- Highlights the profound impact of industrialization and urbanization on demographic shifts.
- Suggests that modernization's influence on fertility extends beyond economic factors to social and familial structures.
- Provides historical context for understanding fertility transitions in developing societies.
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