Recent Fertility Trends And Differentials In Australia

A new Productivity Commission Staff Working Paper finds that there is no current or impending fertility crisis in Australia. Births in Australia are at an historical high - with around 285 000 babies born in 2007. This corresponds to an estimated total fertility rate1 of 1.93 babies per woman, the highest since the early 1980s. The key question for Australia's demographic future is whether (business cycle effects aside) fertility levels will stay at roughly their current level, or resume the downward trend apparent before the recent recovery. There is no fertility 'crisis'. Fertility rates have been generally rising for the last six years, and evidence suggests that after its long downward trend since the Second World War, Australia's fertility rate may have stabilised at around 1.75 to 1.9 babies per woman. Overall, Australia appears to be in a 'safe zone' of fertility, despite fertility levels below replacement levels. With current fertility rates, Australia's population growth rate is still projected to be one of the highest in the developed world because of migrant inflows.

Argues convincingly that immigration continues to benefit U.S. natives as well as most developed countries

Confounding all conventional wisdom, the fertility rate in the Islamic Republic of Iran fell from around 7.0 births per woman in the early 1980s to 1.9 births per woman in 2006. That this, the largest and fastest fall in fertility ever recorded, should have occurred in one of the world’s few Islamic Republics demands explanation. This book, based upon a decade of research is the first to attempt such an explanation. The book documents the progress of the fertility decline and displays its association with social and economic characteristics. It addresses an explanation of the phenomenal fall of fertility in this Islamic context by considering the relevance of standard theories of fertility transition. The book is rich in data as well as the application of different demographic methods to interpret the data. All the available national demographic data are used in addition to two major surveys conducted by the authors. Demographic description is preceded by a socio-political history of Iran in recent decades, providing a context for the demographic changes. The authors conclude with their views on the importance of specific socio-economic and political changes to the demographic transition. Their concluding arguments suggest continued low fertility in Iran. The book is recommended to not only demographers, social scientists, and gender specialists, but also to policy makers and those who are interested in social and demographic changes in Iran and other Islamic countries in the Middle East. It is also a useful reference for demography students and researchers who are interested in applying fertility theories in designing surveys and analysing data.

Transformation of Australia's population, 1970-2030.

The More Developed Realm

This book explores the process of decision-making around having children in a sample of 115 men, women and couples for whom family formation was a recent past, current or imminent future issue. The discussion is initially focused on the extent to which parenthood was contemplated in late adolescence and during the relationship formation/courtship process, and the process by which family sizes are determined. Decision-making associated with having first, second, third and fourth children is then examined in chapters entitled The First Child; The ‘Obligatory’ Second Child; The Discretionary Third Child and Fourth Children – Negative Reactions, Practical Issues. Decisions to Have Children in Late 20th and Early 21st Century Australia offers a detailed coverage of a topic with resonances and implications that apply to contemporary cultures all around the world. ​