An Economic Analysis of the Gap Between Desired and Actual Fertility: The Case of Spain

Adserà, Alı́cia

doi:10.1007/s11150-005-6698-y

Cited by 67 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Several factors contribute to this mismatch between preferences and outcomes. They include competing career and leisure preferences, inability to find the right partner, marriage and partnership disruption, disagreement between partners, and the fact that many women and men face unstable employment conditions, economic difficulties, problems with combining work and childrearing, health problems, or infertility (Bongaarts 2002;Adsera 2006a;Morgan and Rackin 2010;Iacovou and Tavares 2011;Testa, Cavalli, and Rosina 2011). 13 Considering that couples in most European countries use reliable contraception and women often have access to abortion or emergency contraception, one might find it surprising that the observed differences in Europe are not even larger.…”

Section: Discussion Main Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neither long-term experience of below-replacement fertility nor major social and economic upheavals or cultural and technological changes seem to have altered the widespread perception that having two children is ideal, both personally and for society. The factors identified in earlier studies as influencing fertility ideals and preferences, such as religiosity (Adsera 2006a), unemployment and labor market position (Adsera 2006b), experience of single living (Waite, Goldscheider, and Witsberger 1986), number of siblings and siblings' fertility (Axinn, Clarkberg, and Thornton 1994), as well as rising family instability, might be expected to erode the two-child family ideal as societies progressively become more secular, actual family size shrinks, more women enter the labor market, employment becomes more precarious, and more children grow up in unstable family environments. It can be argued that these forces have contributed to the observed gradual increase in the prevalence of the one-child ideal, but so far have not made any significant dent in the widespread adherence to a two-child family norm.…”

Section: Why An Ideal Of Two?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Two Is Best? The Persistence of a Two‐Child Family Ideal in Europe

Sobotka

Beaujouan

2014

Population & Development Rev

243

144

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How persistent and universal has the two child family ideal been in Europe during the last three decades? We analyze responses of women of reproductive age from 168 surveys conducted in 37 countries in 1979–2012. A two‐child ideal has become nearly universal among women in all parts of Europe. Countries that used to display higher ideal family size have converged over time toward a two‐child model. Six out of ten women in Europe consider two children as ideal, and this proportion is very similar in different regions. The mean ideal family size has become closely clustered around 2.2 in most countries. Gradual shifts can be documented toward more women expressing an ideal of having one child (and, quite rarely, having no children) and a parallel decline in an ideal of three or more children. An increasing number of European countries saw their mean ideal family size falling to relatively low levels around 1.95–2.15. However, with the exception of one survey for eastern Germany and two of the surveys not included in our study owing to high nonresponse or low sample size, none of the analyzed surveys suggests a decline in mean ideal family size to levels considerably below replacement, i.e., below 1.9 children per woman.

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Section: Discussion Main Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Why An Ideal Of Two?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Two Is Best? The Persistence of a Two‐Child Family Ideal in Europe

Sobotka

Beaujouan

2014

Population & Development Rev

243

144

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The empirical literature investigating the fall in fertility focuses almost only on women's economic conditions and on actual fertility rates, somewhat neglecting the fact that: 1) in EU countries, the desired fertility rate is significantly higher than the actual rate (Eurostat 2001;Adsera 2006). 2)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

I would if I could: precarious employment and childbearing intentions in Italy

Modena

Sabatini

2011

Rev Econ Household

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This paper carries out an investigation into the socio-economic determinants of childbearing decisions made by couples in Italy. The analysis accounts for the characteristics of both possible parents. Our results do not support established theoretical predictions according to which the increase in the opportunity cost of motherhood connected to higher female labour participation is responsible for the fall in fertility. On the contrary, the instability of women's work status (i.e. having occasional, precarious, and low-paid positions) is revealed as a significant dissuasive factor in the decision to have children. Couples in which there is an unemployed woman are less likely to plan childbearing as well. Other relevant explanatory variables are women's age, men's work status and education, women's citizenship, marital status and perceived economic wellbeing. JEL Codes: C25, J13

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“…Hope and trust in God's grace, hope to solve the economic problems due to increased salary are among the interesting findings of this study. Studies have shown that fertility rate is changed in many communities according to the intensity of religious beliefs [46]. Couples with similar educational backgrounds or similar cultural or religious beliefs tend to take similar decisions related to reproduction [47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concerns about One’s Own Future or Securing Child’s Future: Paradox of Childbearing Decision Making

Kariman¹,

Simbar²,

Ahmadi³

et al. 2014

Health

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Background and Purpose: Researchers' incomplete perception of the concerns about childbearing decision making process is revealed in discussions about policies and programs that are designed to influence fertility. Perceiving the concerns of women is essential to explain process of decision making for childbearing. This study aimed to understand women's main concerns about childbearing decision making. Methods: This qualitative study was performed by conventional content analysis approach. The participants included 22 married women in Tehran who were pregnant for the first time or were using contraceptive methods. Purposeful sampling began and continued up to data saturation. To collect data, the unstructured in-depth interviews were used. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis by Lundman and Graneheim method. Findings: Four categories were obtained from data including "fear", "uncertainty", "hope" and "financial security". The main category or theme was "concerns about one's own future or securing child's future" that was extracted as the main concern of women about childbearing decision making process. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that concerns about one's own future or securing child's future are the main concerns of women about childbearing decision making. Deep understanding of women's concerns about childbearing will help midwives and other service providers to provide services, strategies and more sensitive and appropriate interventions.

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An Economic Analysis of the Gap Between Desired and Actual Fertility: The Case of Spain

Abstract: Fertility, Desired number of children, Unemployment, Short-term contracts, Religion, J13, J2, J6, Z13,

Cited by 67 publications

References 38 publications

Two Is Best? The Persistence of a Two‐Child Family Ideal in Europe

Two Is Best? The Persistence of a Two‐Child Family Ideal in Europe

I would if I could: precarious employment and childbearing intentions in Italy

Concerns about One’s Own Future or Securing Child’s Future: Paradox of Childbearing Decision Making

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