Job Insecurity and the Timing of Parenthood: A Comparison between Eastern and Western Germany

Abstract

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the economic determinants of fertility behavior by addressing the role of job insecurity in couples' intentions concerning parenthood and its timing. It starts from the hypothesis that cultural values moderate individuals' reactions to job insecurity and the way it is related to family formation. With a systematic thematic content analysis of a set of semi-structured interviews with childless men and women around the age of 30 in eastern and western Germany, we are able to show that there are substantial differences in the consequences of job insecurity on intentions to have a first child. In western Germany, a relatively secure job career is expected to precede family formation, and this sequence of transitions is rather rigid, whereas in eastern Germany job security and family formation are thought of and practiced as parallel investments. We suggest that the lack of convergence in family formation patterns between eastern and western Germany after the unification of the country in 1990 is partially related to different attitudes toward job insecurity in the two contexts.

Social networks and fertility

“…Abma and Martinez 2006;González and Jurado-Guerrero 2006;Hara 2008;Tanturri and Mencarini 2008). In these works, declining fertility is shown to be only partially the consequence of new structural conditions, such as increasing female labor market participation or growing labor market insecurity (Bernardi, Klärner, and von der Lippe 2007;Gebel and Giesecke 2009;Kreyenfeld 2010;Kreyenfeld, Andersson, and Pailhé 2012;Özcan, Mayer, and Lüdicke 2010;Tölke and Diewald 2003). According to these scholars, the decline in fertility is also attributable to changing norms regarding parenthood and social learning about new parenthood roles and ideals.…”

The impact of unemployment on the transition to parenthood

“…Most theoretical accounts of fertility decisions rely on the neoclassical economic model of fertility developed by Becker (1981) and its extensions. The following arguments are, albeit in a synthesized manner, based on the discussions regarding those extensions outlined in Kravdal (2002), Kohler and Kohler (2002), Bernardi et al (2008), andAdsera (2004).…”

Deadline for Parenthood: Fertility Postponement and Age Norms in Poland

“…Sobotka 2004). Some recent studies conducted in eastern and western Germany suggest that such a mechanism is indeed plausible (Bernardi et al 2006;Kreyenfeld 2005).…”