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Chapter1:Introduction
1.1.Backgroundofthestudyandresearchaims
Theaimofourresearchisanin-depthinvestigationofindividualfertility
choicesinpost-socialistPoland.Ourrespondents,youngcouplesattheearly
stagesoftheirfamilyformationprocess,arefacingthesechoicesjustoverade-
cadeafterthefallofthecommunism,andwhenthefertilityratesinPoland(as
wellasinothertransformationcountries)reachrock-bottomlevels.Theystart
theirfamilieswithinthisever-changingcontext.Astheygrewup,thePolish
economic,political,social,aswellasdemographiclandscapesevolvedinto
acompletelynewreality.Themaingoalofthisstudyistoimproveourunder-
standingofthefertilitydeclineinthiscontext.
Fertilitydeclineisbynomeansanewphenomenon.Butthescaleofthe
decline,especiallyafter1970,tookmanyresearchersbysurprise(Caldwell2004,
Demeny2005,vandeKaa1987).Inthe1950s,itwasbelievedthat“thetransi-
tiontoanefficientrecruitmentoflifeonthebasisoflowbirth-ratesandlow
death-rates”hadbeencompletedinthedevelopedcountries(Notestein1953).
Instead,fertilityratescontinuedtodecline.Currently,almostallEuropeancoun-
triesrecordanaturalincreaseofclosetoorbelowzero,andalmosthalfofthem
havereached“lowest-low”fertilitylevels(totalfertilityrateof1.3orless,
Kohler,BillariandOrtega2002).Europefacestheproblemofpopulationaging.
And,associalinstitutionsarepathdependent(McNicoll1994),thechangeinthe
agestructureofthepopulationalsohasanimpactonotherelementsofsocial
reality,suchasthehealthcareandsocialsecuritysystems,thelabourmarket,the
housingmarket,andtheeducationalsystem(Cordon2006,LutzandWilson2006,
MacKellar2006,Philipov2005).Thus,notsurprisingly,understandingthefertility
declineinthecontemporaryEuropeisthefocalpointformanyresearchers
.
“Therstproblemistodecideexactlywhatisgoingon”(Coleman2005,p.15)
,
andthistaskisfarmorechallengingthanitmayinitiallyappear.First,fertility
declineisaproductofthreecloselyrelatedreproductivebehaviours:couples
havechildrenlaterinlife,theysubstantiallylimitthenumberofoffspring,and
theymorefrequentlychoosetoremainchildless(Billari2005,Coleman2005,
Kohler,BillariandOrtega2002,Sobotka2004).Moreover,thefertilitydecline
isaccompaniedbyotherfamily-relatedtrends.Thelevelsofextramaritalbirths