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A longitudinal, micro-level study of the effect of socioeconomic transformations on fertility mechanisms in the rural hinterland of Bologna between 1818 and 1900 (the beginning of the demographic transition) demonstrates that the premature death of a last-born child reduces the interval between two consecutive childbirths. Thus does it confirm the importance of breast-feeding in determining birth spacing. Women living in complex sharecropping households experienced a significantly higher risk of childbirth than did women in families headed by daily wage earners. In addition, the reproductive behavior of sharecroppers seemed to be substantially invariant to short-term ºuctuations in prices, whereas the laborers' group experienced a negative price effect. Both descriptive and multivariate analyses indicate a slight and gradual decrease in fertility levels during the period in question.

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The family forms found in central and northeastern Italy in the nineteenth century contrasted sharply with those found in the south, with complex forms generally characterizing the former areas and nuclear forms predominating in the latter. Early marriage and a neolocal form of household formation prevailed in most of the south, while later marriage and multi-nuclear households were common in the north. These are linked to differences in the economic systems of these different areas, but also to cultural differences.