Mass Education as a Determinant of the Timing of Fertility Decline

This article proposes mechanisms through which mass education produces declines in fertility and reviews the evidence both in the 19th century demographic transition in the west and in contemporary developing countries for such a relationship. It is argued that the primary determinant of the timing of the onset of the fertility transition is the effect of mass education on the family economy. The direction of the wealth flow between generations changes with the introduction of mass education at least partly because the relationships between members of the family are transformed as the morality governing those relationships changes. (Authors)