Representing new approaches to the study of the family and historical
demography, this collection of essays analyzes the relationships of
demographic processes in different population groups to household
structure and family organization, and their implications for family
behavior. Emphasizing dynamic rather than structural factors, the essays
thus move beyond earlier studies of family history.
Essays by the editors, Richard Easterlin, George Alter, Gretchen
Condran, and Stanley Engerman focus on patterns of fertility in relation
to urban and industrial development, economic opportunity and the
availability of land, and race and ethnic origin. The remaining essays,
by Laurence Glasco, Howard Chudacoff, and John Modell, deal with family
organization over time as affected by such factors as the practice of
boarding, the role of kin, family budgeting strategy, and migration.
The authors not only challenge the prevailing assumption that rapid
urbanization is responsible for the decline in the fertility rate; they
also contend that, contrary to the prevailing theories of social change,
the emergence of nuclear households was not a consequence of
industrialization.
Originally published in 1978.
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