Rising union dissolution in Latin America—and in much of the world—has increased public concern over the involvement of nonresidential fathers in the lives of their children. At the same time, social norms about post-separation fatherhood have changed, increasingly favoring not only economic support, but also participation in child-rearing. In this article, we (a) examine several dimensions of nonresidential fathers’ involvement with their children, (b) test whether there is a link between pre-separation and post-separation fathering practices, and (c) explore which dimension of pre-separation fathering practices—engagement, accessibility, and responsibility—is more influential on post-separation paternal behavior. The study is based on two waves of a longitudinal national survey carried out in Uruguay. Empirical findings suggest that fathers’ pre-separation involvement in child-rearing affects their post-separation parenting behavior, although results are not conclusive in all aspects of post-separation involvement, and father’s educational attainment tends to have a more influential role.
Previous studies have documented an increasing heterogeneity in first-birth timing in countries experiencing the postponement transition. Sobotka (2004), for instance, showed a rising dispersion in age at first birth in developed countries, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States, where the timing polarisation between more and less advantaged women is most evident. However, these studies have included few countries outside Europe and North America, and lack a thorough interpretation of the rising dispersion in first births. Our aim is to compare the evolution of dispersion in age at first birth in countries in Europe, East Asia, North America and South America. Using data from the Human Fertility Database and the Human Fertility Collection, we describe the evolution of the period mean age at first birth and its variance for 21 countries since 1970. In line with previous studies, our results show a widespread pattern of increasing heterogeneity in age at first birth after the onset of the postponement transition, although with marked differences among regions and countries. The greatest heterogeneity can be found in countries where timing of family formation varies greatly among women with different socioeconomic status. Chile and Uruguay, in particular, exhibit the highest heterogeneity even though they are at the beginning of the postponement transition. There is no general explanation of why dispersion increased as the mean age at first birth rose. Further studies in this area should investigate causes and interpretations of this trend, and develop measures for studying heterogeneity in fertility timing.
El descenso de la fecundidad en América Latina y el Caribe es un fenómeno inédito y extremadamente veloz. Hoy, numerosos países de la región tienen fecundidad bajo el nivel de reemplazo, incluyendo casos emblemáticos como el de Brasil. Aquí se debate desde qué marco conceptual se pueden comprender las diferentes medidas, programas o políticas que están surgiendo y surgirán en el futuro en relación a temas de fecundidad y familia. Además, se resumen e interpretan las experiencias de aquellos países en los que se han implementado políticas familiares en contexto de fecundidad bajo el reemplazo (concretamente, las políticas implementadas en Suecia, España y Francia) discutiendo de qué manera las experiencias europeas pueden resultar útiles para la formulación de políticas en América Latina. Para concluir, se enumeran las decisiones clave a tomar para el diseño de políticas familiares en contexto de baja fecundidad.Palabras clave: Fecundidad. Políticas familiares. Fecundidad bajo el reemplazo. América Latina y el Caribe.
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