The editors of the present Special Collection of the electronic journal Demographic Research take pleasure in making the Collection available to the research community and the general public. The Collection’s principal focus is the demographic analysis of European fertility trends, their...

European fertility early in the 21st century was at its lowest level since the Second World War. This study explores contemporary childbearing trends and policies in Europe, and gives detailed attention to the past two or three decades. We felt motivated to undertake this project because in many...

This chapter outlines the positions in the current debate about the possibility of using public policies to influence fertility. We note the polarization between, on the one hand, those who view public policies as obvious means for lifting the currently low fertility levels in Europe, in line...