Volume 23 - Article 30 | Pages 847–878  

Family life in power couples.: Continued childbearing and union stability among the educational elite in Sweden, 1991–2005

By Martin Dribe, Maria Stanfors

Abstract

This article studies continued childbearing and union stability among "power couples," or dual-career couples. The determinants of these events are analysed multivariately using longitudinal data on couples from population registers in Sweden, 1991–2005. Power couples are identified using their levels and fields of education, and their sectors of employment. Income and other variables are controlled for. The results show that power couples are more likely to continue childbearing, and are less likely to separate, than other couples. This implies that, despite the expected higher opportunity costs of childbearing and the small gains to specialisation, power couples who start families are able to combine career and continued childbearing.

Author's Affiliation

• Martin Dribe - Lunds Universitet, Sweden EMAIL
• Maria Stanfors - Lunds Universitet, Sweden EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

The forest and the trees: Industrialization, demographic change, and the ongoing gender revolution in Sweden and the United States, 1870-2010
Volume 36 - Article 6

Fertility and the fast-track: Continued childbearing among professionals in Sweden, 1991-2009
Volume 31 - Article 15

Socioeconomic status and fertility before, during, and after the demographic transition: An introduction
Volume 31 - Article 7

The historical fertility transition at the micro level: Southern Sweden 1815-1939
Volume 30 - Article 17

Social class and net fertility before, during, and after the demographic transition: A micro-level analysis of Sweden 1880-1970
Volume 30 - Article 15

Social mobility and demographic behaviour: Long term perspectives
Volume 26 - Article 8

Marriage choices and social reproduction: The interrelationship between partner selection and intergenerational socioeconomic mobility in 19th-century Sweden
Volume 22 - Article 14

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