Evolution of the shape of the fertility curve: Why might some countries develop a bimodal curve?

Age at first birth and subsequent fertility: The case of adolescent mothers in France and England and Wales

“…However, the timing of first birth varies largely across countries (Burkimsher 2017), and socio-economic inequalities exist within countries (Rendall et al 2009). At a national level, social norms as well as family policies can influence the timing of a first birth (Frejka and Sardon 2006).…”

The Emergence of Bimodal Fertility Profiles in Latin America

“…Turning to a cohort perspective, Burkimsher () identified bimodality in first birth rates in some European countries, including Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania, as a temporary feature of the transition to a later childbearing pattern among women born in 1968–1980. Some women from these cohorts have already adopted a new late childbearing schedule, while other women had children early in life, in line with the previous norm.…”

Visualizing fertility trends for 45 countries using composite lattice plots

“…Previous studies using visualization techniques of the Lexis surface either focused on data from a single country (Calot et al 1998), sub-national regions (Campbell and Robards 2014;Rau et al 2018), or a more limited number of countries (Burkimsher 2017). Compared to previous research, our paper combines different tools of the Lexis surface in a novel way and explores a large number of countries, supporting a more finegrained comparison of multiple pieces of information for the exploration of fertility trends over time and across geographic regions.…”

“…On the other hand, both England and Wales and Scotland show lower cohort fertility with replacement fertility being lost for women born around 1955. For the remaining Western European countries, replacement fertility appeared lost even for earlier cohorts, with German-speaking countries, displaying more pronounced patterns in fertility measured at 1.50 children per woman (see earlier discussion for West and East Germany in section 3.1 and for the latter, Rau et al 2018; for Switzerland, see Burkimsher 2017 andCalot et al 1998). A high level of heterogeneity is also observed among Eastern and Central European countries, which either show lost fertility replacement or pronounced levels of 1.50 children per woman for cohorts born approximately after 1960, who have been affected by the collapse of the Socialist regime.…”

“…Data visualization techniques such as Lexis surfaces have become an increasingly popular tool to investigate trends in fertility and other population characteristics in recent years (Burkimsher 2017;Calot et al 1998;Campbell and Robards 2014;Rau et al 2018;Vaupel, Gambill, and Yashin 1987). They provide convenient visual arrangements of birth rates and related indicators by calendar time, age, and/or cohort, and are thus an effective tool for both the exploration and the identification of dynamic patterns and relationships arising from fertility data.…”