Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/142384 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9945
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
France experienced the demographic transition before richer and more educated countries. This paper offers a novel explanation for this puzzle that emphasizes the diffusion of culture and information through internal migration. It tests how migration affected fertility by building a decennial bilateral migration matrix between French regions for 1861-1911. The identification strategy uses exogenous variation in transportation costs resulting from the construction of railways. The results suggest the convergence towards low birth rates can be explained by the diffusion of low-fertility norms by migrants, especially by migrants to and from Paris.
Subjects: 
fertility
France
demographic transition
migration
JEL: 
J13
N33
O15
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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