This award provides support to Dr. William Axinn under the National Science Foundation's Young Investigator Awards program. The objective of this program is to recognize outstanding young faculty in science and engineering, to enhance the academic career of recent Ph.D. recipients, and to foster contact and cooperation between academia and industry. Dr. Axinn has already made significant research contributions to the field of demography, and he has the potential to become a leader in academic research and education. This award will allow the investigator to pursue his research interests in family formation processes in the United States and in Nepal. Dr. Axinn plans to expand his research on family formation in the United States. He will examine the mechanisms through which children's family formation behavior is influenced by their parents' family formation and dissolution experiences, and their educational and financial resources. He also plans to study intergenerational influences on childbearing decisions. Dr. Axinn's work on fertility in Nepal will be aimed at understanding the causes of fertility change in that country. This research will provide important insights into the processes resulting in fertility decline in non-industrialized settings.
