Prudence and Pressure : Reproduction and Human Agency in Europe and Asia, 1700-1900

Lee, James Z., Alter, George, Tsuya, Noriko O., Bengtsson, Tommy, Wang, Feng

ISBN 10: 0262013525 / ISBN 13: 9780262013529

Published by MIT Press, 2010

Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 39672985-75

Synopsis:

A study of human reproduction and social organization in preindustrial communities that reveals important similarities between Europe and Asia.

This pioneering study reconceptualizes the impact of social organizations, economic conditions, and human agency on human reproduction in preindustrial communities in Europe and Asia. Unlike previous studies, in which Asia is measured by European standards, Prudence and Pressure develops a Eurasian perspective.

Drawing on rich new data and the tools of event-history analysis, the authors challenge the accepted Eurocentric Malthusian view that attributes "prudence" (smaller families due to late marriage) to the preindustrial West and "pressure" (high mortality due to overpopulation) to the East, showing instead important similarities between Europe and Asia in human motivation and population behavior.

The authors analyze age, gender, family and household, kinship, social class and power, religion, culture, and economic resources in order to compare reproductive strategies and outcomes. They reveal underlying similarities between East and West in two major components of the reproductive regime--marriage and childbearing--and offer evidence showing that preindustrial reproduction was motivated and governed by human agency at least as much as by human biology.

Prudence and Pressure is part of a large-scale interdisciplinary effort to use new data and methods to re-examine the Malthusian paradigm of population growth. It represents a significant advance in the fields of historical demography, history, and sociology.

About the Authors: Noriko O. Tsuya is Professor of Economics at Keio University, Tokyo.

Wang Feng is Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine.

George Alter is Professor of History at the University of Michigan.

James Z. Lee is Professor and Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Prudence and Pressure : Reproduction and ...
Publisher: MIT Press
Publication Date: 2010
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good