The onset of fertility transition in Italy, 1800-1900

Marco Breschi, Università degli Studi di Sassari
Alessio Fornasin, Università degli studi di Udine
Matteo Manfredini, Università degli Studi di Parma
Lucia Pozzi, Università degli Studi di Sassari
Rosella Rettaroli, Università di Bologna

This project aims at analysing the mechanisms of fertility and reproductive behaviour in Italy during the early phase of the demographic transition by using a micro-analytical approach. The micro-level analysis is based on a nominative reconstruction of about six communities located in various Italian regions. We used both religious and civil records in order to study the fertility in the period 1800-1900. Event History models will evaluate the role of some specific factors in modifying the risk of having a child, considering determinants as: biological factors, social status and household structure, presence of siblings, maternal reproductive history, educational level, immigration and economic fluctuations. The great variety of the communities analyzed in terms of geographical and political conditions as well as socio-economic situations, including sharecropping communities and areas of small landownership, will allow comparative analyses on trends, patterns and geographical differences of the onset of the transitional process in Italy.