ABSTRACT
The demographic transition is characterized by two phases: the first phase is when mortality rates decline and fertility remains at a more or less traditional level. The result is a period of rapid growth. But for the countries in Europe, and even Japan, that rapid population growth was in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 percent per year. Carl Taylor himself has always stressed the potential significance of reaching a threshold in reduction of infant and rapid decline in birthrates. The changes in factors such as income and relative prices emphasized by the so-called demand side theories of fertility just don't occur that rapidly. One factor often emphasized by economists such as Gary Becker is a change in parents' attitudes from an emphasis on the quantity of children to an emphasis on the quality of children.
