Review article
Factors of Spatial Variation in Fertility – The Example of Europe with the Particular Emphasis on the Croatian-Hungarian Border
Tomislav Belić
orcid.org/0000-0002-1002-4490
; Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Croatia, Zagreb
Roko Mišetić
; Department of Sociology, Catholic University of Croatia, Zagreb
Abstract
Persistently low total fertility rates are one of the most significant challenges for most developed countries in the long run. Although the countries of Northern and Western Europe stand out in Europe with their higher levels of fertility, convergence with other regions has been noticeable in recent years. Surveys of spatial fertility variation show a similar pattern across Europe - fertility levels are higher in rural areas and small towns, and lower in large cities. The paper provides an overview of the main theories on the factors influencing the variation of fertility in space. The literature is dominated by two main hypotheses: the compositional hypothesis claims that fertility levels differ between places because different structures of people live in different settlements, while the contextual hypothesis argues that factors related to the immediate environment are crucial. In addition to the above stated hypotheses, the role of selective migration is also considered. Economic and sociocultural factors of fertility variation are the two most studied groups of influences. Recent research also emphasizes the role of space itself in fertility variation, so a separate section provides an analysis of fertility variation in the area of Croatian-Hungarian border. The data show that there is no unambiguous link between the border position and the level of fertility, but the fertility levels of border areas of both countries are more similar to each other than the fertility levels of their respective home countries.
Keywords
fertility; Europe; spatial variation; border regions; Podravina
Hrčak ID:
278989
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2021.
Visits: 582 *