FERTILITY, FAMILY, AND SOCIAL-POLICY IN CONTEMPORARY WESTERN-EUROPE

Period total fertility rates are below replacement level in all Wester n European countries. Mediterranean countries, commonly labeled tradit ional, Catholic, and family oriented, exhibit the lowest fertility lev els, whereas Sweden-the cradle of the modern liberal welfare state and the country in which empowerment of women is most fully realized-has the highest fertility in Western Europe. In seeking an explanation for the fertility differential, this note compares the status of women in Italy and Sweden and contrasts attitudes and policies toward the fami ly in Italy and Germany with those in Britain and Sweden. The evidence suggests that in advanced industrial societies, higher status of wome n may be a precondition for raising fertility to replacement level.