Volume 24 - Article 24 | Pages 579-610

On the links between employment, partnership quality, and the desire to have a first child: The case of West Germany

By Ina Berninger, Bernd Weiß, Michael Wagner


Date received:	01 Feb 2010
Date published:	15 Apr 2011
Word count:	8067
Keywords:	employment, fertility, partnerships
DOI:	10.4054/DemRes.2011.24.24
Weblink:	You will find all publications in this Special Collection “Economic uncertainty and family dynamics in Europe” at http://www.demographic-research.org/special/12/

Abstract

We examine the impact of precarious work (low income and job security satisfaction) on the intention to have a first child. We consider a direct and an indirect effect; the latter is mediated by partners’ conflict behaviour, conflict level, and partnership quality. We assume that a satisfactory partnership is positively associated with the intention to have a first child. The analyses are based on a subsample of the German Generations and Gender Survey. For men we found a direct effect of income and an indirect effect of job security satisfaction on childbearing intentions, whereas for women no direct and only a weak indirect impact of precarious work could be observed.

Author's Affiliation

Ina Berninger - University of Bremen, Germany [Email]
Bernd Weiß - University of Cologne, Germany [Email]
Michael Wagner - University of Cologne, Germany [Email]