This collection of eighteen papers and eleven commentaries by noted economists, demographers, and sociologists, combines systematic discussions of the demographic effects of below-replacement fertility with efforts to explain its social origins, to determine the likely societal consequences and to assess potential policy responses.

As Mr Petersen points out in this study, since the war there has been a very strong belief in the Netherlands that emigration is necessary. Even those who never before occupied themselves with these matters now speak of the large natural increase, the overpopulation, and the lack of opportunities in the Netherlands. Thousands are considering the possibility of leaving their home land and creating a new existence for themselves overseas. It is a mistake to suppose, however, that these ideas stem from the special demographic and economic conditions that arose in the Netherlands since the war;...