EDITOR'S NOTE Welcome to the Journal , f Poputation Research. This issue includes a wide range of topics of interest, including fertility transition, the relationship between contraceptive use and lactational amenorrhoea, the influence of sex of children on divorce and marriage, the transition to adulthood, and the relationship between demography and the New Economy. These are addressed at different geographical levels: at the global level, at the national level in more-developed countries (Italy, Sweden and Australia), and at the subnational level in a less-developed country, Bangladesh. The papers cover quantitative and qualitative research as well as methodological issues and contributions to theory. The first paper by Caldwell and Caldwell gathers together the evidence for the onset and progress of the fertility transition throughout the world and groups these according to region. Their analysis shows that, while the onsets of historical fertility declines were closely related to income, mortality and education levels, this link is now weaker, especially in Asia, where family planning programs have led to earlier and faster declines than would be anticipated from past experience. Nevertheless, globalization has occurred with greater sinfilarities than previously assumed. Billari addresses a different transition, namely the transition from childhood to adulthood.This paper discusses the complexities involved in attempting to analyse the multiple life course events marking this transition. Using data for Italy, Billari adopts a graphical tool based on a generalized survivor function for the analysis of the temporal relationship between two events, and uses sequence analysis to describe the transition as a whole and to address the standardization-individualization debate. Remaining in Europe, Andersson and Woldemicael investigate the effect of sex of children on the divorce propensities of Swedish mothers, following a-frequently-cited US study that found a significant positive effect of daughters. Their negative results, which are based on highly accurate and large-scale Swedish population register data, are important because they serve to question the basis of the US finding. Andersson and Woldemicael also found no effect of sex of children on the propensity to enter first marriage. The paper by Salway combines quantitative and qualitative data in a study of the negative relationship between contraceptive use and tactational amenorrhoea in two subnational populations in Bangladesh. This detailed analysis identifies four different mechanisms and concludes that the subconscious substitution of contraceptive protection for the natural protection of breastfeeding is the most likely explanation. This issue of JPR concludes with a 'perspective' paper by Quiggin who examines the relationship between the New Economy and demography. The term 'New Economy' is in fact used by different people to refer to different developments, which have different demographic implications. Using Australia as an example, Quiggin argues that labour market liberalization has been sustained by the labour provided by the baby boomers and that with current institutions an economic ageing crisis will occur as their labour is withdrawn. Heather Booth November 2001

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Welcome to the Journal , f Poputation Research. This issue includes a wide range of topics of interest, including fertility transition,

the relationship between contraceptive use and lactational amenorrhoea, the influence of sex of children on divorce and marriage, the transition to adulthood, and the relationship between demography and the New Economy. These are addressed at different geographical levels: at the global level, at the national level in more-developed countries (Italy, Sweden and Australia), and at the subnational level in a less-developed country, Bangladesh. The papers cover quantitative and qualitative research as well as methodological issues and contributions to theory.

The first paper by Caldwell and Caldwell gathers together the evidence for the onset and progress of the fertility transition throughout the world and groups these according to region. Their analysis shows that, while the onsets of historical fertility declines were closely related to income, mortality and education levels, this link is now weaker, especially in Asia, where family planning programs have led to earlier and faster declines than would be anticipated from past experience. Nevertheless, globalization has occurred with greater sinfilarities than previously assumed.

Billari addresses a different transition, namely the transition from childhood to adulthood.This paper discusses the complexities involved in attempting to analyse the multiple life course events marking this transition. Using data for Italy, Billari adopts a graphical tool based on a generalized survivor function for the analysis of the temporal relationship between two events, and uses sequence analysis to describe the transition as a whole and to address the standardization-individualization debate. Remaining in Europe, Andersson and Woldemicael investigate the effect of sex of children on the divorce propensities of Swedish mothers, following a-frequently-cited US study that found a significant positive effect of daughters. Their negative results, which are based on highly accurate and large-scale Swedish population register data, are important because they serve to question the basis of the US finding. Andersson and Woldemicael also found no effect of sex of children on the propensity to enter first marriage.

The paper by Salway combines quantitative and qualitative data in a study of the negative relationship between contraceptive use and tactational amenorrhoea in two subnational populations in Bangladesh. This detailed analysis identifies four different mechanisms and concludes that the subconscious substitution of contraceptive protection for the natural protection of breastfeeding is the most likely explanation.

This issue of JPR concludes with a 'perspective' paper by Quiggin who examines the relationship between the New Economy and demography. The term 'New Economy' is in fact used by different people to refer to different developments, which have different demographic implications. Using Australia as an example, Quiggin argues that labour market liberalization has been sustained by the labour provided by the baby boomers and that with current institutions an economic ageing crisis will occur as their labour is withdrawn.

Heather Booth November 2001