Malthus in the Bedroom: Birth Spacing as Birth Control in Pre-Transition England
Copyright policy )Malthus in the Bedroom: Birth Spacing as Birth Control in Pre-Transition England
Overturning a generation of research, Cinnirella et al. Demography, 54, 413–436 (2017) found strong parity-dependent fertility control in pre-Industrial England 1540–1850. We show that their result is an unfortunate artifact of their statistical method, relying on mother fixed effects, which contradicts basic biological possibilities for fecundity. These impossible parity effects also appear with simulated fertility data that by design have no parity control. We conclude that estimating parity control using mother fixed effects is in no way feasible. We also show, using the Cambridge Group data that Cinnirella et al. used, that there is no sign of parity-dependent fertility control in English marriages before 1850. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13524-019-00786-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
- University of Copenhagen Denmark
- University of Copenhagen Denmark
- Department of Economics University of California, Berkeley United States
- Utrecht University Netherlands
- University of Copenhagen Denmark
Microsoft Academic Graph classification: History Birth control Birth intervals media_common Fecundity Birth spacing Geography media_common.quotation_subject Fertility Birth rate Socioeconomic status Parity (mathematics) Demography Bedroom
History, Birth control; Birth intervals; Fertility limitation; Preventive check; Spacing; Birth Intervals; Birth Rate; Contraception; England; Family Characteristics; History, 16th Century; History, 17th Century; History, 18th Century; History, 19th Century; Humans; Income; Maternal Age; Socioeconomic Factors; Weather, Birth control; Birth interval; Fertility limitation; Preventive check; Spacing; Birth Rate; Contraception; England; Female; Fertility; Humans; Parity; Population Dynamics; Pregnancy; Birth Intervals; Marriage, Population Dynamics, Preventive check, History, 18th Century, Settore SECS-P/02 - Politica Economica, Faculty of Social Sciences, Settore SECS-P/12 - Storia Economica, Pregnancy, /dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/FacultyOfSocialSciences, Marriage, 16th Century, Birth Rate, Settore SECS-P/01 - Economia Politica, Family Characteristics, Spacing, History, 19th Century, Parity, Birth interval, Contraception, England, History, 16th Century, Income, 17th Century, Female, Maternal Age, Birth intervals, 18th Century, Article, History, 17th Century, Natural fertility, Humans, Birth control, Developing Countries, Weather, Spacing; Birth interval; Birth control; Fertility limitation; Preventive check;, Demography, 19th Century, Pre-transitional fertility, Spacing; Birth intervals; Birth control; Fertility limitation; Preventive check, Fertility limitation, Fertility, Socioeconomic Factors, Parity-specific birth control
History, Birth control; Birth intervals; Fertility limitation; Preventive check; Spacing; Birth Intervals; Birth Rate; Contraception; England; Family Characteristics; History, 16th Century; History, 17th Century; History, 18th Century; History, 19th Century; Humans; Income; Maternal Age; Socioeconomic Factors; Weather, Birth control; Birth interval; Fertility limitation; Preventive check; Spacing; Birth Rate; Contraception; England; Female; Fertility; Humans; Parity; Population Dynamics; Pregnancy; Birth Intervals; Marriage, Population Dynamics, Preventive check, History, 18th Century, Settore SECS-P/02 - Politica Economica, Faculty of Social Sciences, Settore SECS-P/12 - Storia Economica, Pregnancy, /dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/FacultyOfSocialSciences, Marriage, 16th Century, Birth Rate, Settore SECS-P/01 - Economia Politica, Family Characteristics, Spacing, History, 19th Century, Parity, Birth interval, Contraception, England, History, 16th Century, Income, 17th Century, Female, Maternal Age, Birth intervals, 18th Century, Article, History, 17th Century, Natural fertility, Humans, Birth control, Developing Countries, Weather, Spacing; Birth interval; Birth control; Fertility limitation; Preventive check;, Demography, 19th Century, Pre-transitional fertility, Spacing; Birth intervals; Birth control; Fertility limitation; Preventive check, Fertility limitation, Fertility, Socioeconomic Factors, Parity-specific birth control
Microsoft Academic Graph classification: History Birth control Birth intervals media_common Fecundity Birth spacing Geography media_common.quotation_subject Fertility Birth rate Socioeconomic status Parity (mathematics) Demography Bedroom
citations This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).41 popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.Top 10% influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).Top 10% impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.Top 10% citations This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).41 popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.Top 10% influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).Top 10% impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.Top 10%
Citations provided by BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!