Social differences in the decline of marital reproduction in rural Navarre (Spain)
Sanchez, J.J.
European Journal of Population 14(3): 291-301
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0168-6577 PMID: 12158984 DOI: 10.1023/a:1005950728054Document Number: 278529
The continued decline of marital fertility in Navarre, Spain, during the first few decades of the 20th century was associated with an increase in life expectancy and greater survival to adulthood. While the decline affected all social strata and geographical regions, it was not homogeneous, with some sectors of Navarrese society beginning the fertility transition earlier than others. Using data drawn from the nominal lists of the 1940 Spanish Census on married women aged 45-49 years, the author investigated the influence of differences in geographical origin, level of urbanization, father's occupation, level of religious devotion, and political factors upon the observed decline in marital fertility. The data support the originators of demographic transition theory, that the more urban populations, and therefore those with a higher percentage of the active population working in nonprimary sectors, led the fertility decline. The degree of a society's secularization also influenced the beginning of the decline of fertility and the levels reached.