The fertility decline in the Dutch province of Limburg, 1880–1960: On understanding historical actors in a constrained environment

The Dutch province of Limburg is mentioned in the European Fertility Project studies because of the fact that its fertility was remarkably high well into the twentieth century and declined only gradually. This article explores the structural background of changes in reproductive behavior in Limburg. The province is economically differentiated in industrial areas and traditional agricultural regions. Also, there is a clear cultural heterogeneity. Using data at the community level, the article analyzes of the economic motivation as well as of the mental acceptation of the introduction of neoMalthusian behavior. The results show that we are better able to explain the variance in behavior as the twentieth century proceeds, and that the factor “economy” appears to be the best predictor, although the effects of a cultural filter become evident.     

The Effects of Changes in Federal Aid on State and Local Government Spending

This study suggests federal grants-in-aid had an important influenceon state and local government spending during the 1960s andmost of the 1970s. This positive stimulation also seems to havecontinued during 1982–1985, despite the Reagan administration'sefforts to cut the level of federal aid to states and communities.The stimulative effect of federal aid, however, was showingsigns of diminishing after 1977 and was conspicuously absentfor the 1977–1981 and 1985–1988 periods.