Abstract
This chapter lays the theoretical and methodological foundation for the book, Reproductive decision-making in a macro-micro perspective.
It introduces the issues addressed in the book and the European
Commission Seventh Framework funded collaborative research project,
REPRO, on which it is based. A brief overview of the recent trend toward
low fertility in Europe and the gap between desired and achieved family
size at national levels (known as the fertility gap)
is provided. The theoretical argument which follows is that, to
understand macro-level trends in fertility, a thorough knowledge of
micro-processes and how the macro- and micro-levels are interrelated, is
necessary. A model of relationships between macro- and micro-levels is
presented before a brief discussion of macro-level modelling which, in
addition to its benefits, is at risk of errors arising from
compositional effects and the ecological fallacy. The social
psychological Theory of Planned Behavior
(TPB), the framework adapted for micro-level modelling in this book, is
presented here in a form specific to reproductive decision making. The
chapter also includes discussion of issues associated with satisfactory
integration of macro- and micro-level information, focusing on the
strengths and weaknesses of comparative micro-studies and multi-level
modelling.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Reproductive decision-making in a macro-micro environment |
Editors | D. Philipov, A.C. Liefbroer, J.E. Klobas |
Place of Publication | New York |
Publisher | Springer |
Pages | 1-15 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 978-94-017-9401-5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |