Formal demography has yet to move beyond assuming that demographic rates are constant over time, an assumption that is both unrealistic and constraining. To generalize the fixed rate stable model to the changing rate dynamic model, this paper explores the mathematical regularities that underlie...

Many studies have examined Keyfitz’s population momentum, a special case of inertia in long-term population size resulting from demographic transition to the stationary population growth rate. Yet, population inertia can be produced by any demographic perturbation (i.e., not just perturbations...

The age-specific growth function of an observed population and the reproductive value function based on the population´s current vital rates determine the intrinsic rate of growth implied by those vital rates through the simple relationship given in equation (1). That equation establishes the...

Many studies have documented a negative association between macroeconomic indicators and fertility in times of economic crisis. These studies are based on research designs that do not allow for excluding that the observed association is driven by confounders. The aim of the present paper is to...

A sample covering 204,394 blocks from the 1990 U.S.Census permits measurement of residual heterogeneity from local area to local area after controlling by stratification for demographic characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, sex as well as geographic characteristics such as region and...

By marrying and raising children, parents participate in a system of gift-exchange in which the gifts in question are human lives, and the parties to the exchange are the kinship groups recognised in the society concerned. Fertility reflects the attitudes of prospective parents to their place in...

Our study describes fundamental changes in childbearing behavior in Hungary. It documents current postponement of entry into motherhood (first birth) and uncovers signs of delay in second birth. We place the behavioral modifications into historical time and reveal the basic role of the...

Period life expectancy has increased more slowly than its cohort counterpart. This paper explores the differences between life expectancies at a given time (the gap) and the time required for period life expectancy to reach the current level of cohort life expectancy (the lag). Additionally, to...

This study explores the change of married women’s sex preference for children in Taiwan since 1990, finding that there was a substantial decline of son preference and rise of “gender indifferenceâ€, defined as feeling indifferent about children’s sex (as opposed to...

Based on Swedish register data, we compared the influence of a twin birth on the divorce risk with the influence of the sequential birth of two single children. The divorce risk for a woman with a very young child was lower than the risk for women without children or women with children older...