Structural and Cultural Synergisms in Successive Behavioral Innovations: A Comparative Analysis of Two Demographic Transitions in the Regions of Spain and Belgium, 1880-2010

This is a study of how the combination of cultural and structural factors, which played a major role during the historical fertility and nuptiality transition, have continued to condition demographic innovations connected to the “second demographic transition”(SDT). The continuity or discontinuity from the “first” to the “second” demographic transition is studied for spatial aggregates over more than a century in two national contexts, i.e. Belgium and Spain. Special attention is being paid to the role of successive secularization waves in shaping the geographical patterns of both transitions. The study also shows that the maps of the two aspects of the SDT, i.e. the “postponement” and the “non-conformism” transitions respectively, are shaped by different determinants. 1 Support for this research came from the WorldFam project (ERC-2009-StG-240978) and the Center for Demographic Studies, Barcelona. The authors would also like to thank Profs. D. Reher, A. Cabré and J. Recaño-Valverde for their preliminary comments. 2 Emeritus professor Vrije Universiteit (VUB), and Royal Academy of Sciences, Brussels. Support for his work in Barcelona came from AGUAR, Generalitat de Catalunya. 3 Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics, Edifici E2, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain