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Abstract
Background: Unlike actual fertility, fertility intentions are often found to be positively correlated with education. The literature explaining this paradox is scarce. Objective: We aim to fill the gap in the existing scientific literature by searching for the main factors that influence highly educated women to plan a larger family size. Methods: Using the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey for four countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, and Norway), we analyse the relationship between mother’s socio-economic status and daughter’s fertility intentions, controlling for daughter’s socio-economic status and sibship size. Zero-inflated Poisson regression models are employed to estimate the predictors of women’s additionally intended number of children. Results: We find that the effect of family of origin is exerted mainly through sibship size among childless daughters: Daughters with more siblings intend to have more children. After the transition to parenthood, the effect of family of origin is exerted mainly through the mother’s level of education: Daughters with highly educated mothers intend to have more children. Conclusions: The empirical results suggest that the positive link between births intentions and level of education might not merely be an artefact generated by the design of cross-sectional surveys but the outcome of a better socio-economic status that allows forming positive reproductive plans. Contribution: The positive role of mother’s socio-economic status on daughter’s fertility decision-making offers a valuable interpretation of the positive link between education and fertility intentions which goes beyond the alternative explanations referring to self-selection, partner effect, or time squeeze, and needs to be confirmed by further research.
Originalsprache | Englisch |
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Seiten (von - bis) | 581 - 616 |
Fachzeitschrift | Demographic Research |
Jahrgang | 35 |
Ausgabenummer | 21 |
DOIs | |
Publikationsstatus | Veröffentlicht - 2016 |
Bibliographische Notiz
Aktualisierte VersionÖsterreichische Systematik der Wissenschaftszweige (ÖFOS)
- 504006 Demographie
- 504004 Bevölkerungsstatistik
Projekte
- 1 Abgeschlossen
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Fruchtbar Entscheidung Treffung und Humankapital
Testa, M. R. (Projektleitung)
1/01/14 → 1/06/16
Projekt: Forschungsförderung