Belgian Historical Demography as Viewed from North America: Protoindustrialization, Fertility Decline, and the Use of Population Registers.

Research in Belgian historical demography played an important role in two debates widely discussed by North American scholars. Protoindustrialization, the spread of rural industry, was linked to declining ages at marriage, population growth and poverty. Belgian research on the transition to low fertility showed that culture played an important role and that economic conditions affected the spread of family limitation within communities.