The educational gradient of childlessness and cohort parity progression in 14 low fertility countries

Wood, Jonas; Neels, Karel; Kil, Tine

doi:10.4054/demres.2014.31.46

Cited by 105 publications

(166 citation statements)

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“…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%

“…Instead, we anticipate that our study will provide a valuable contribution to increasing understanding of how to interpret changing educational differentials in childbearing by disentangling the relative importance of quantum and timing in the UK context. We contribute to evidence on change over time in educational differentials more generally, on which there is currently limited research (Wood, Neels, and Kil 2014).…”

Section: Aim and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The UK situation contrasts with the narrowing of educational differences in childlessness in other European countries, mostly due to an increase in levels of childlessness among lower-educated women (van Agtmaal-Wobma and van Huis 2008; Andersson et al 2009;Neels and De Wachter 2010). Potential explanations for divergent patterns of childlessness by education across countries include the relative accessibility of career opportunities for women, policies facilitating the combination of work and family formation; contraceptive methods that provide an alternative to childbearing; differing educational trends in the timing of marriage and/or cohabitation between countries; and social attitudes towards childlessness (Hobcraft andKiernan 1995, Sobotka 2012;Wood, Neels, and Kil 2014).…”

Section: Educational Differentials In Childlessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst considerable extant research has described educational differences in childlessness and parity progression (for recent examples see Sobotka 2013;Wood, Neels, and Kil 2014;Berrington in press), these studies have generally not disaggregated trends by cohort, educational level, and, crucially, age at entry into motherhood. This is mainly due to the very large sample sizes required in order to make such analyses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Educational attainment is a strong predictor of fertility and, particularly given the expansion of higher education among post-war cohorts, the mechanisms underlying this educational differential are of significant interest in contemporary demography (Rindfuss, Bumpass, and John 1980;Axinn and Barber 2001;Hoem, Neyer, and Andersson 2006;Testa 2012;Wood, Neels, and Kil 2014). Increased education has an impact on childbearing through enrolment and human capital effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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: Educational Differentials In Childlessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Aim and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Educational Differentials In Childlessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Educational differences in timing and quantum of childbearing in Britain

Berrington¹,

Stone²,

Beaujouan³

2015

DemRes

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Shifting links in the relationship between education and fertility

Wood

Klüsener

Neels

et al. 2020

Population Space and Place

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For a long time, high-income countries tended to report a negative association between female educational attainment and childbearing. Belgium was among the first countries that seemed to witness the emergence of a positive educational gradient in female fertility. It has been argued that-alongside other contextual correlates-this trend reflects the increasing availability of work-family reconciliation policies from which especially highly educated people benefit. In contrast to the sizable body of literature assessing varying educational gradients in female fertility across countries, subnational regional variation has hitherto received little attention. As a result, we study the Belgian case using unique microdata covering all residents in 2002-2005. The main focus is on the relevance of between-municipality variation in economic conditions and childcare services for understanding variation in second birth hazards by educational attainment. We show that a considerable part of the municipal variation in the educational gradient in second birth hazards reflects a positive link between fertility and childcare provisions as well as wealth for highly educated women, contrasting with lower educated groups. Our findings suggest that institutional support for families is relevant but also incurs the risk of increased social polarisation.

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Social Background and Adult Socio-Demographic Outcomes in a Cross-National Comparative Perspective: An Introduction

Liefbroer

Zoutewelle-Terovan

2021

Social Background and the Demographic Life Course: Cross-National Comparisons

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An individual choice paradigm, focusing on individual preferences and values, has long dominated our understanding of socio-demographic outcomes. Recently, a trend towards an unequal choice paradigm, stressing how inequality in opportunities structures socio-demographic outcomes, is observed. This chapter outlines these changes and argues for a comparative perspective to examine how childhood disadvantage impacts these socio-demographic outcomes. The expectation is that the consequences of childhood disadvantage for demographic outcomes in young adulthood and for socio-economic and well-being outcomes in middle and late adulthood depend on the opportunities that national contexts offer to abate the adverse impact of economic and social deprivation. Subsequently, all chapters of the book are briefly introduced and their contribution to understanding this key issue is discussed.

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The educational gradient of childlessness and cohort parity progression in 14 low fertility countries

Cited by 105 publications

References 95 publications

Educational differences in timing and quantum of childbearing in Britain

Educational differences in timing and quantum of childbearing in Britain

Shifting links in the relationship between education and fertility

Social Background and Adult Socio-Demographic Outcomes in a Cross-National Comparative Perspective: An Introduction

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