TY  - JOUR
A1  - Le Goff, Jean-Marie
T1  - Cohabiting unions in France and West Germany: Transitions to first birth and first marriage
Y1  - 2002/12/17
JF  - Demographic Research
JO  - Demographic Research
SN  - 1435-9871
SP  - 593
EP  - 624
DO  - 10.4054/DemRes.2002.7.18
VL  - 7
IS  - 18
UR  - https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol7/18/
L1  - https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol7/18/7-18.pdf
L2  - https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol7/18/7-18.pdf
N2  - This paper compares the non-marital birth pattern in France and West Germany. Since the beginning of the eighties, France witnessed a steady increase in non-marital birth rates, while in West Germany non-marital birth rates have remained at a relatively low level. We attribute these differences to the institutional and legal constraints from both sides of the Rhine which hamper or foster childbearing in cohabiting unions. 

Using data from the French and German Family and Fertility Survey, we apply event history modeling to the transition to marriage and first birth. Our results indicate a polarization of family forms in both countries. In West Germany, we find a polarization in a "family sector" and a "non-family sector" while in France there is a polarization in a "marriage sector" and a "cohabiting sector".

ER  -