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Low and Lower Fertility

Variations across Developed Countries

  • Book
  • © 2015

Overview

Editors:
  1. Ronald R. Rindfuss

    1. Department of Sociology and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, CHAPEL HILL, USA

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  2. Minja Kim Choe

    1. East-West Center, Honolulu, USA

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Examines two distinct low fertility scenarios that have emerged in economically advanced countries since the turn of the 20th century

  • Explores how a country’s institutions, policies and culture shape its fertility level and pattern

  • Leading demographers compare fertility influences across high-income, highly-educated countries with advanced economies

  • Highlights the unique case of China which raises important questions about the importance of policy versus social and economic factors

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Diversity across Low-Fertility Countries: An Overview

    • Ronald R. Rindfuss, Minja Kim Choe
    Pages 1-13

  3. China’s Long Road toward Recognition of Below-Replacement Fertility

    • Wang Feng
    Pages 15-31

  4. Singapore’s Pro-natalist Policies: To What Extent Have They Worked?

    • Gavin W. Jones, Wajihah Hamid
    Pages 33-61

  5. Understanding Ultra-Low Fertility in Hong Kong

    • Stuart Basten
    Pages 63-86

  6. Below-Replacement Fertility in Japan: Patterns, Factors, and Policy Implications

    • Noriko O. Tsuya
    Pages 87-106

  7. Lowest-Low Fertility and Policy Responses in South Korea

    • Samsik Lee, Hyojin Choi
    Pages 107-123

  8. Variation in U.S. Fertility: Low and Not so Low, but Not Lowest-Low

    • S. Philip Morgan
    Pages 125-141

  9. The Evolution of Population and Family Policy in Australia

    • Peter McDonald
    Pages 143-159

  10. The Dutch Fertility Paradox: How the Netherlands Has Managed to Sustain Near-Replacement Fertility

    • Melinda C. Mills
    Pages 161-188
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Keywords

About this book

This volume examines two distinct low fertility scenarios that have emerged in economically advanced countries since the turn of the 20th century: one in which fertility is at or near replacement-level and the other where fertility is well below replacement. It explores the way various institutions, histories and cultures influence fertility in a diverse range of countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. The book features invited papers from the Conference on Low Fertility, Population Aging and Population Policy, held December 2013 and co-sponsored by the East-West Center and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA). It first presents an overview of the demographic and policy implications of the two low fertility scenarios. Next, the book explores five countries currently experiencing low fertility rates: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. It then examines three countries that have close to replacement-level fertility: Australia, the Netherlands and the United States. Each country is featured in a separate chapter written by a demographer with expert knowledge in the area. Very low fertility is linked to a number of conditions countries face, including a declining population size. At the same time, low fertility and its effect on the age structure, threatens social welfare policies. This book goes beyond the technical to examine the core institutional, policy and cultural factors behind this increasingly important issue. It helps readers to make cross-country comparisons and gain insight into how diverse institutions, policies and culture shape fertility levels and patterns.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Sociology and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, CHAPEL HILL, USA

    Ronald R. Rindfuss

  • East-West Center, Honolulu, USA

    Minja Kim Choe

About the editors

Ronald R. Rindfuss is a Research Professor in the Department of Sociology, Adjunct Professor in the Geography Department, and a Fellow of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, and a Senior Fellow at the East-West Center, Honolulu, HI. He is Past President of the Population Association of America and a former Director of the Carolina Population Center. His research interests include fertility, population and the environment, migration and family demography.

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