IUSSP Panel on Below Replacement Fertility: Causes, Consequences and Policy Responses

International Seminar on Patterns of Economic Development, Social Change, and Fertility Decline in Comparative Perspective: Analysis and Policy Implications

Organized by: the IUSSP Panel on Below Replacement Fertility: Causes, Consequences and Policy Responses and the School of Social Development and Public Policy of Fudan University

Shanghai, China, 24-26 May 2012.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Deadline for abstract submission: 15 December 2011.

During the past couple of decades, many countries have experienced rapid economic development, as well as extensive changes in social and political conditions. These changes, in turn, resulted in fertility declines to very low levels. The pace of decline and the current level of fertility have been widely diverse. The total fertility rates estimated for most countries in Europe, East Asia and Oceania, as well as some countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, range from below 1.0 to 2.1.

A total fertility rate at a level of 1.2 or 2.1 has extremely different effects on a country’s age structure and population growth, along with important implications for institutions and policies. As a result, fertility levels have captured the attention of policy makers and scientists alike. Research, however, has yet to produce a comprehensive understanding of fertility behavior across low-fertility countries. The aim of this seminar is to improve the understanding of the patterns and causes of fertility decline to below replacement level in different settings and paces of economic development and social change, and to consider their policy implications.

Papers dealing with topics listed below and related topics, especially in comparative perspectives, are welcome.

• Roles of economic development and other conditions on fertility decline to below replacement level
• Economic costs and benefits of sustained below replacement level fertility
• Impact of fertility change and age structure on economic development
• Economic impact of regional variations in fertility
• Role of education on fertility in countries with below replacement level of fertility
• Very low fertility and gender relations 
• Fast versus slow decline of fertility and their social and economic consequences
• Sustained below replacement fertility and its impact on immigration
• Reproductive health challenges in the context of below replacement fertility
• Role of population policies on fertility change

Online Submissions
The IUSSP Panel on Below Replacement Fertility: Causes, Consequences and School of Social Development and Public Policy of Fudan University invite researchers in the field to submit online by 15 December 2011 a short 200-word abstract AND upload an extended abstract (2 to 4 pages, including tables) or a full paper, which must be unpublished. To submit and fill out the online submission form, please click here: online submission form.

Submission should be made by the author who will attend the seminar. If the paper is co-authored, please indicate the names of co-authors at the end of the abstract. The seminar will be limited to a maximum of 20 completed papers.

Papers submitted should be unpublished. The committee has not yet made a decision regarding the possible publication of seminar papers. 

The working language at the seminar will be English. Abstracts and final papers should therefore be submitted and presented in English.

Applicants will be notified whether their paper has been accepted by 31 January 2012. In the case of acceptance on the basis of an abstract, the completed paper must be uploaded on the IUSSP website by 15 April 2012.

Current funding for the seminar is limited and efforts are under way to raise additional funds. At present, we have funds to support only a limited number of participants’ expenses at the meeting and some travel expenses. Applicants are encouraged to seek their own travel funding. Those who are applying for financial assistance from the IUSSP should indicate this by ticking the appropriate box on the online submission form. Applicants will be informed of the status of their application for financial support by 1 March 2012.

For further information, please contact seminar organizer Minja Choe (mchoe@hawaii.edu).

IUSSP Scientific Panel on Below Replacement Fertility: Causes, Consequences and Policy Responses:
Chair: Minja Kim Choe
Members: Beatriz Figueroa, Tomas Frejka, Øystein Kravdal, Wang Feng, Kua Wongboonsin.