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Title: Open discussion on planned project – interdisciplinary study on biological and social determinants of reproductive decisions and outcomes

Introductions by: Hans Peter Kohler, University of Pennsylvania and Vegard Skirbekk, Centre for Fertility and Health

Abstract:

Biological and social research provide compelling frameworks and evidence to understand the complexities of human fertility. This project takes an integrative approach. Many studies on determinants fertility emphasize either biological or social factors; relatively few studies have an interdisciplinary focus. These perspectives are often complementary and describe different phenomena that could possibly influence fertility independently of each other. In such cases, the explanatory power of different variables can be tested against each other. In other cases, biological and social perspectives can describe the same phenomena, at different levels of abstraction.  Our aim is to integrate these perspectives. This project will study the confluence of health-related, genetic, cultural and socioeconomic determinants. In sum, we aim to quantify how different biological and social factors determine fertility; both at the individual and societal levels.