"Transitions contraceptives : Quelques points forts d’une nouvelle analyse des données"

The substantial increase in contraceptive use, particularly “modern” methods, since 1960 constitutes a revolutionary social and behavioral change.  What accounts for population-level contraceptive transitions?  Is there a universal pattern with variations in timing and rates of change from low to high rates of contraceptive use, or are there a wider range of pathways?  And how are contraceptive transitions related to – or distinct from – fertility transitions?  A recently published Supplement to Population and Development Review – a product of the work of an IUSSP panel -- contains eight articles that wrestle with these questions.  The aim in assembling this collection was a set of essays that synthesize the extensive scholarship of the past few decades on contraceptive change, critique this scholarship, identify unresolved issues, and suggest promising ways forward.  The Supplement includes a range of disciplinary perspectives on contraceptive transitions and population-level contraceptive change – demography, sociology, economics, epidemiology.  For this presentation, we highlight arguments and conclusions in the essays that may seem surprising and/or that challenge prevalent assumptions among scholars.