THE STORY OF A MAVERICK - BULGARIA FERTILITY DECLINE

Analysis of the fertility decline in Bulgaria shows that the perceptio n of Bulgaria as an 'anomaly' in terms of its demographic development is based on a conservative interpretation of the demographic transitio n theory. The features that distinguish Bulgaria from the western Euro pean countries (faster decline, persistence of early and universal mar riages, etc.) are generally accounted for by the specific social, econ omic, cultural, and political conditions. These findings suggest that the speed of the fertility decline and the means through which it is a chieved are affected by a complex interaction between cultural and eco nomic factors that are often difficult to distinguish in terms of prim acy.