Livia Sz. Oláh
Eva Bernhardt

http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol19/28/

doi:10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.28

	Click the icon to view and/or download the PDF file. Once you are in the PDF file, use your browser back button to return to this page.

Abstract
Sweden is the forerunner of the Second Demographic Transition. Fertility trends have fluctuated greatly since the 1960s, and the 1990s showed both European-highest and lowest-ever-in-Sweden levels, while the cohort pattern has been relatively stable. Period fluctuations have been accompanied by a postponement of entering committed partnerships and parenthood as well as an increasing instability of family relationships. The awareness and the availability of effective contraceptives have been extensive since the mid-1970s, the year the liberal abortion law was introduced. Post-modern values are dominant in this highly secularized society, but ideal family size is among the highest in the European Union, and childlessness has remained at a relatively low level. Ethnic diversification has increased over time, with about one-fifth of the population having a ‘foreign background’ in the early 2000s. The level of female labor-force participation is the highest in Europe (although mothers of pre-schoolers often work part-time), and young women are just as highly educated as men. Family policies, based on the principle of equality across social groups and gender, seem to play an important role in keeping fertility relatively high. In combination with other factors, family policies also play a role in the fluctuations of fertility rates, as eligibility to parental-leave and benefits as well as the availability of public childcare are linked to parents’ labor-force attachment.

Author's affiliation
Livia Sz. Oláh
Stockholm University, Sweden
Eva Bernhardt
Stockholm University, Sweden

Keywords
childbearing, Europe, fertility, gender equality, Sweden

Related links

You will find all publications in this Special Collection “Childbearing Trends and Policies in Europe” at http://www.demographic-research.org/special/7/

Word count (Main text)
10316

Other articles by the same author/authors (in Demographic Research)

	[22-8] Reconciling studies of men’s gender attitudes and fertility: Response to Westoff and Higgins
	[19-56] Men's childbearing desires and views of the male role in Europe at the dawn of the 21st century
	[4-2] Gender and family stability: Dissolution of the first parental union in Sweden and Hungary
	[S3-9] Becoming a Mother in Hungary and Poland during State Socialism

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

	[22-13] Can public policies sustain fertility in the Nordic countries?: Lessons from the past and questions for the future (gender equality, fertility)
	[22-8] Reconciling studies of men’s gender attitudes and fertility: Response to Westoff and Higgins (fertility, Europe)
	[21-20] Understanding low fertility in Poland: Demographic consequences of gendered discrimination in employment and post-socialist neoliberal restructuring (Europe, childbearing)
	[19-29] Ukraine: On the border between old and new in uncertain times (fertility, childbearing)
	[19-27] Spain: Short on children and short on family policies (Europe, childbearing)

[ Back to previous page ]