Volume 14 - Article 14 | Pages 295–330

Second births in western Germany and France

By Katja Köppen

Print this page  Facebook  Twitter

 

 
Date received:23 Dec 2005
Date published:28 Apr 2006
Word count:10354
Keywords:comparative analysis, education, event history analysis, fertility, France, Germany, second births, West Germany
DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2006.14.14
 

Abstract

We compare second birth risks in France and western Germany using data from the Family and Fertility Survey. Second birth risks are higher for highly educated women than for women with lower education in both countries. In western Germany, the positive effect weakens after controlling for the education level of the partner. The positive effect of French women’s education remains unchanged, even after controlling for the partners’ characteristics.
We interpret this finding in the sense that work and family life are more compatible in France, where highly educated women can turn their education more often into work opportunities and income. West German women often have to make a decision between an employment career and motherhood as two exclusive life options. In such a situation, it is primarily the partners’ earning potential that influences fertility.

Author's Affiliation

Katja Köppen - Universität Rostock, Germany [Email]

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

» The gendered division of labor and its perceived fairness: Implications for childbearing in Germany
Volume 40 - Article 48

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

» Varying association between education and second births in Europe: Comparative analysis based on the EU-SILC data
Volume 31 - Article 27    | Keywords: comparative analysis, education, fertility, second births

» Cohabiting unions in France and West Germany: Transitions to first birth and first marriage
Volume 7 - Article 18    | Keywords: event history analysis, fertility, France, Germany

» Time Squeeze, Partner Effect or Self-Selection?: An Investigation into the Positive Effect of Women’s Education on Second Birth Risks in West Germany
Volume 7 - Article 2    | Keywords: education, fertility, Germany, second births

» Who becomes a grandparent – and when? Educational differences in the chances and timing of grandparenthood
Volume 37 - Article 29    | Keywords: education, fertility, West Germany

» Estimating male fertility in eastern and western Germany since 1991: A new lowest low?
Volume 35 - Article 53    | Keywords: fertility, Germany, West Germany

Articles

»Volume 14

 

Citations

 

 

Similar Articles

 

 

Jump to Article

Volume Page
Volume Article ID