%0 Journal Article %1 Kohler2000/12 %A Kohler, Hans-Peter %D 2000/12 %J Journal of Development Economics %K Coordination Equilibrium Fertility Social decline; interaction; networks; problem; selection %N 2 %P 231-263 %T Fertility decline as a coordination problem %V 63 %X The so-called `diffusion of innovation' approach is often used in explanations of historical and contemporary fertility declines. We investigate this issue by developing a new theoretical analysis, which combines economic and sociological reasoning. Particular attention is devoted to the role of social networks for the selection of equilibria in situations when fertility decline constitutes a coordination problem. We show that the effect of networks depends on the particular interaction among individuals and on the prevailing socioeconomic conditions: `information networks' can only speed up a fertility transition that would also take place in the absence of social interaction, while `coordination networks' can facilitate demographic change in societies that would otherwise be caught in a Malthusian situation.

@article{Kohler2000/12, abstract = {The so-called `diffusion of innovation' approach is often used in explanations of historical and contemporary fertility declines. We investigate this issue by developing a new theoretical analysis, which combines economic and sociological reasoning. Particular attention is devoted to the role of social networks for the selection of equilibria in situations when fertility decline constitutes a coordination problem. We show that the effect of networks depends on the particular interaction among individuals and on the prevailing socioeconomic conditions: `information networks' can only speed up a fertility transition that would also take place in the absence of social interaction, while `coordination networks' can facilitate demographic change in societies that would otherwise be caught in a Malthusian situation.}, added-at = {2008-08-31T18:03:07.000+0200}, author = {Kohler, Hans-Peter}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/21790281d0cbb17f1a704b0d26cf10945/jomiralb}, description = {Old biblio}, interhash = {37a0dc6d6bc45435f1d607b40abd3e7c}, intrahash = {1790281d0cbb17f1a704b0d26cf10945}, journal = {Journal of Development Economics}, keywords = {Coordination Equilibrium Fertility Social decline; interaction; networks; problem; selection}, number = 2, owner = {oriol}, pages = {231-263}, timestamp = {2008-08-31T18:03:16.000+0200}, title = {Fertility decline as a coordination problem}, volume = 63, year = {2000/12} }