Reproductive change in transitional Italy: insights from the Italian Fertility Survey of 1961

Marco Breschi, Università degli Studi di Sassari
Massimo Esposito, Università degli Studi di Sassari
Alessio Fornasin, Università degli studi di Udine
Matteo Manfredini, Università degli Studi di Parma

In 1961, a second complete fertility survey was re-proposed some thirty years later the survey of 1931, introducing more details in the information concerning ever-married women. The Central Institute of Statistics processed this mass of data only in part and moreover with considerable delay. It is therefore not surprising that the results of the census of 1961 have received less attention despite some of its innovative characteristics. Our starting point is the original “Family sheets” of the Census of 1961 regarding (as of today, March 2013) four populations located in four different regions. We are currently working to expand our analysis to other communities (in Budapest we plan to expand the set of surveyed populations, particularly to the South Italy). This approach would allow us to focus our attention (at the micro-level) on specific groups of women who have lived as protagonists the dramatic socio-economic transformation of Italy. Moreover, the most part of such women lived their childhood, marriage and reproductive life during the Fascist era. We have therefore the opportunity to get also some insight in the effects of the pro-natalistic policy of the regime on the fertility of the various socio-economic strata of the population.