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Containing seven articles, this volume reflects a selection of current research issues on population and family in the Low Countries. With the permission of the Dutch and Belgian Governments, the national reports submitted to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo) are also included. They provide information on the official views of the Dutch and Belgian Governments on demographic trends and population policy issues.

This volume includes seven contributions on a variety of current demographic issues, most of them treated from an international and/or European perspective. The idea behind this book series is to introduce scientific work on population issues in the Low Countries, the Netherlands and Flanders/Belgium, to an international audience. Subjects treated in this volume are: ageing and the socio-medical infrastructure; population and sustainable development, population policy and fundamental rights in relation to procreation; public opinion on population issues; optimum population and supportive environment; theories and demographic research; and population education and demographic software.

The aim of this text is to examine changes in the start of the family formation process. Rather than giving a overview of demographic changes in many countries, a comparison of differences in changes in family formation and fertility behaviour between Belgium and The Netherlands is interesting for various reasons. First, even though the economic and cultural differences between these countries are relatively small there is one important difference: Belgium is predominantly Catholic, whereas The Netherlands has about equal proportions of Catholics and Protestants. Second, if the Second Demographic Transition implies that there is one common pattern of change in different European countries and that differences across countries are due to the fact that countries are in a different stage of the transition process, and if it is assumed that the transition process started earlier in Protestant countries than in Catholic countries, one would expect The Netherlands to be in a further stage of the transition process than Belgium.Thus an in-depth comparison of changes in family formation and fertility behaviour between both countries may give us more insight in the question of whether there is one common transition process. The comparison of fertility and family survey-data in both countries brings us to the core question of whether there is one common explanation for differences between countries in various types of fertility and family behaviour under consideration, namely fertility regulation, the choice of living arrangement after leaving the parental home, and the labour force participation of mothers.

The aim of Diversity in Family Formation is to examine changes in the start of the family formation process. Rather than giving a rough overview of demographic changes in many countries, a comparison of differences in changes in family formation and fertility behaviour between Belgium and The Netherlands is interesting for various reasons. First, even though the economic and cultural differences between these countries are relatively small there is one important difference: Belgium is predominantly Catholic, whereas The Netherlands has about equal proportions of Catholics and Protestants. Second, if the Second Demographic Transition implies that there is one common pattern of change in different European countries and that differences across countries are due to the fact that countries are in a different stage of the transition process, and if it is assumed that the transition process started earlier in Protestant countries than in Catholic countries, one would expect The Netherlands to be in a further stage of the transition process than Belgium.Thus an in-depth comparison of changes in family formation and fertility behaviour between both countries may give us more insight in the question of whether there is one common transition process. The comparison of fertility and family survey-data in both countries brings us to the core question of whether there is one common explanation for differences between countries in various types of fertility and family behaviour under consideration, namely fertility regulation, the choice of living arrangement after leaving the parental home, and the labour force participation of mothers.

EDITORS NIDI, P.O. Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, The Netherlands CBGS, Markiesstraat 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium This volume is the tenth edition in the series "Population and Family in the Low Countries". It is published by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demo­ graphic Institute (NIDI, The Hague) together with the Flemish Population and Family Study Centre (CBGS, Brussels), with the purpose to inform an international audience on results of demographic research in Belgium and the Netherlands. The series started in 1976. From 1991 on, it is published annually. The current edition includes seven articles reflecting a selection of current research issues in the Low Countries. With permission of the Dutch and Belgian Governments the national reports submitted to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (Cai'ro) are also included in this volume. They provide up to date information on the official views at present of the Dutch and Belgian Government on demographic trends and population policy issues.