From Local to National Communities: The Transformation of Demographic Regimes in Western Europe, 1870-1960

The view that individual choice is fundamental to the analysis of modern reproductive behavior has been largely unchallenged. This article proposes that certain characteristics of demographic change in Western Europe between 1870 and 1960 suggest a significant role for others--kin friends and neighbors--in accounting for demographic behavior. Moreover demographic as well as linguistic patterns suggest that while in the past the relevant others were members of the local community in the present the relevant community is largely national. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (EXCERPT)