Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Historical Demography

Abstract

Work conducted in Europe upon European historical demography has been central to the development of the field. The impetus for European historical demography came mainly not from historians but from demographers and to a somewhat lesser extent economic historians. The author notes the influence of Louis Henry and his successors in France and Italy. The emphasis in France and Italy has been upon quantitative materials with analyses ranging from household reconstitution to tracing the evolution of fertility and mortality levels and changes in marriage age. The situation is more complicated in Britain. The most influential body of European historical demography conducted in the US was a project which grew out of the demographic tradition the Princeton European Fertility Project led by economic demographer Ansley Coale. The project begun in 1963 is discussed. The reports which resulted from the Princeton study focused almost exclusively upon quantitative data. That study however concluded that standard demographic and economic variables fail to account for the timing or geographical pattern of fertility decline. The growing interest in historical demography and the evolution of the field in the US and Europe and why qualitative information should be sought in historical demographic research are discussed.