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The decline in birth rates in advanced economies is not a new phenomenon. Between 1880 and 1900 birth rates dropped from 5.5 children per woman to 2.5 children per woman. A further decline from 2.5 to 1.5 or even 1.3 children took much longer about 80 years. One of the most apparent causes apart from access to contraceptives or an increasing level of education is, however, widely ignored. In this book, Beatrice Scheubel analyses the effects of the first comprehensive system of social security, which was introduced between 1883 and 1891 in Germany. She shows the link between social security and the demographic transition and above all raises the awareness for the link between social security and fertility from a longer-term perspective, which is a prerequisite for dealing with the effects of demographic change.

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