ABSTRACT
Introduction The United States has an exceptional level of overall fertility-among the highest for economically developed countries. In addition, its fertility is approximately the level required for population replacement (2.1 children per woman). In contrast, fertility is well below replacement in many other developed countries, raising serious concerns for national governments. These low rates of fertility are also well below the number of children that many women intend (Bongaarts, 2002; Kohler, Billari, & Ortega, 2002), creating personal crises for some women (e.g., Hewlett, 2002). Why is the U.S. fertility level high relative to that in other developed countries? Is the very low fertility observed in some other countries transitory? Or are the forces of economic development and concomitant changes inevitably anti-natalist and do they portend low fertility in the American future?
