The Contribution of Diffusion to the Fertility Transition in Belgium (1887–1934)

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate whether diffusion contributed to the geography and the speed of the fertility transition. To this end, we assembled a new and unique dataset from historical sources in Belgium containing yearly information on fertility at the municipality level and a range of structural and cultural indicators over 47 years (1887–1934). We use this dataset in diffusion models based on multilevel event‐history analysis. We find that diffusion between neighboring places influenced the geography of the fertility transition only in its early stages; and diffusion ac... Mehr ...