Postponement and childlessness - Evidence from two British cohorts

Kneale, Dylan; Joshi, Heather

doi:10.4054/demres.2008.19.58

Cited by 109 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Not only has fertility been postponed more in the UK than in some other countries, but this postponement has also been concentrated in the most educated groups (Rendall et al 2005;Kneale and Joshi 2008). Thus in the UK the timing of entry into motherhood is highly polarised according to education, similarly to the situation found in the US and Australia, but unlike the situation in Norway and France (Rendall et al 2010).…”

Section: Timing Of Entry Into Motherhoodmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Currently, the level of childlessness in the UK is relatively high, and educational differences in childlessness are large and stable by European standards (McAllister and Clarke 2000; Kneale and Joshi 2008;Berrington and Pattaro 2014;Wood, Neels, and Kil 2014). Survey data suggest that childlessness in the UK is largely involuntary since relatively few women (or indeed men) of any educational level report that they intend to have no children (Ni Bhrolchain, Beaujouan, and Berrington 2010;Berrington and Pattaro 2011;Berrington in press).…”

Section: Educational Differentials In Childlessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Educational differences in timing and quantum of childbearing in Britain

Berrington¹,

Stone²,

Beaujouan³

2015

DemRes

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BACKGROUNDIncreased postponement of fertility, especially among higher-educated women, means it is important to know whether women recuperate births at older ages, but evidence for the UK is lacking. The extent to which the timing and quantum of mothers' fertility underlie the strong educational gradient in completed family size is also unclear. OBJECTIVEWe investigate the relative contributions of childlessness, timing, and quantum to educational differences in completed fertility within cohorts born between 1940 and 1969. METHODSWe analyse retrospective fertility histories from 44,351 women, born 1940−1969, interviewed in the British General Household Survey (1979 and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009−2010). After describing educational differences in the timing of first birth and parity distributions, we quantify the relative contributions of childlessness, delayed entry into motherhood, and fertility rates conditional upon age at entry into motherhood, to educational differences in completed family size. RESULTSWithin each cohort, the educational gradient in completed family size is explained, in demographic accounting terms, almost entirely by educational differences in the proportions remaining childless and the age distribution of mothers at entry into motherhood. Conditional upon age at entry into motherhood, subsequent fertility rates are similar across educational groups and across cohorts. CONCLUSIONSUnlike for some other European countries, the postponement of motherhood to later ages in Britain has not resulted in a significant increase in childbearing among moreeducated women who enter motherhood at later ages. The stability of aggregate measures of completed fertility in Britain is not the result of a straightforward process of postponement followed by recuperation.

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Section: Timing Of Entry Into Motherhoodmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Educational Differentials In Childlessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational differences in timing and quantum of childbearing in Britain

Berrington¹,

Stone²,

Beaujouan³

2015

DemRes

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show abstract

“…The longer young adults remain in education, the longer they are likely to delay family formation (Kneale and Joshi 2008). At the same time enrolment in higher education promotes early home leaving (Ford, Rugg, and Burrows 2002).…”

Section: The Impact Of Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The changing determinants of UK young adults´ living arrangements

Stone¹,

Berrington²,

Falkingham³

2011

DemRes

101

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“…There has been long-standing interest in educational differences in fertility among women, but less attention has been paid to men in this respect. Men who acquire higher levels of education become fathers at older ages than their peers with less education (Liefbroer and Corijn 1999;Corijn and Klijzing 2001;Kneale and Joshi 2008;Zhang 2011). At older ages, however, having a higher education may promote family formation and fertility e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%