CHILDREN AND CHANGE IN A SERBIAN VILLAGE, 1870-1975 (FERTILITY, DEMOGRAPHY)

The study uses a century of change in Orasac, Yugoslavia to examine the role of fertility in socio-economic change. The theoretical significance of the research is that it attempts to cope with the disparity between expectation as exemplified by the demographic transition and economic determinant models with the observed variability within patterns of social change. An approach to fertility is advanced which incorporates a sensitivity to traditional values regarding children and their role in change with economic concepts. It further argues that traditional values about the family are not necessarily antithetical to or incompatible with economic modernization. The conceptual framework employs a four-tier analytical hierarchy composed of the individual, household, lineage, and community with subsequent comparisons to regional and national trends. A primary consideration is given to modifying and operationalizing Caldwell\u27s ideas about the economic importance of children, social values related to economic production, and wealth flow in determining fertility levels. Study results are used to assess the adequacy of theoretical generalizations about fertility and their relationship to social and economic change. Conclusions are advanced about intracommunity variation over time and the importance of different social levels in understanding change