Family size and intergenerational social mobility during the fertility transition: Evidence of resource dilution from the city of Antwerp in nineteenth century Belgium

Jan Van Bavel; Sarah Moreels; Bart Van de Putte; Koen Matthijs

doi:10.4054/DemRes.2011.24.14

Volume 24 - Article 14 | Pages 313–344

Family size and intergenerational social mobility during the fertility transition: Evidence of resource dilution from the city of Antwerp in nineteenth century Belgium

By Jan Van Bavel, Sarah Moreels, Bart Van de Putte, Koen Matthijs

Date received:

3 Nov 2009

Date published:

18 Feb 2011

Word count:

8551

Keywords:

19th century, Belgium, demographic transition, fertility, parental investment, quantity-quality trade-off, resource dilution, social mobility

DOI:

10.4054/DemRes.2011.24.14

This article is part of the Special Collection 10 "Social Mobility and Demographic Behaviour: A Long-Term Perspective"

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Abstract

It has been argued in sociology, economics, and evolutionary anthropology that family size limitation enhances the intergenerational upward mobility chances in modernized societies. If parents have a large flock, family resources get diluted and intergenerational mobility is bound to head downwards. Yet, the empirical record supporting this resource dilution hypothesis is limited. This article investigates the empirical association between family size limitation and intergenerational mobility in an urban, late nineteenth century population in Western Europe. It uses life course data from the Belgian city of Antwerp between 1846 and 1920. Findings are consistent with the resource dilution hypothesis: after controlling for confounding factors, people with many children were more likely to end up in the lower classes. Yet, family size limitation was effective as a defensive rather than an offensive strategy: it prevented the next generation from going down rather than helping them to climb up the social ladder. Also, family size appears to have been particularly relevant for the middle classes. Implications for demographic transition theory are discussed.