Birth spacing as a family strategy: evidence from 19th century Leuven, Belgium |
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Authors: | Jan Van Bavel |
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Institution: | Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Leuven, Van Evenstraat 2B, B-3000, Louvain, Belgium |
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Abstract: | This article investigates the hypothesis that 19th-century working class families in Leuven, Belgium, were controlling their fertility by means of birth spacing for household economic reasons. Detailed life-course data were collected in order to construct, on one hand, a set of covariates that represent the influences of natural fertility on birth intervals and, on the other, a number of family variables that represent the hypothetical, household economic motivation to space births. The findings strongly suggest that birth intervals were not merely a function of natural fertility differences and that family strategic spacing behavior also played a role. |
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