We provide new evidence on the education-fertility relationship by using EU-SILC panel data on 24 European countries to investigate how couples’ educational pairings predict their childbearing behavior. We focus on differences in first, second and third birth rates between couples with varying combinations of partners’ education. Our results show that there are important differences in how education relates to parity progressions depending on the education of the partner. First, highly educated homogamous couples show a distinct childbearing behavior in most country clusters. They tend to postpone the first birth most and display the highest second and third birth rates subsequently. Second, contrary to what may be expected based on the New Home Economics, hypergamous couples with a highly educated male and a lower educated female partner display among the lowest second birth transitions. Our findings underscore the relevance of interacting both partners’ education for a better understanding of the education-fertility relationship.

Partners’ Educational Pairings and Fertility Across Europe / Nitsche, Natalie; Matysiak, Anna; Van Bavel, Jan; Vignoli, Daniele. - In: DEMOGRAPHY. - ISSN 1533-7790. - STAMPA. - 55:(2018), pp. 1195-1232. [https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-018-0681-8]

Partners’ Educational Pairings and Fertility Across Europe

Vignoli, Daniele
2018

Abstract

We provide new evidence on the education-fertility relationship by using EU-SILC panel data on 24 European countries to investigate how couples’ educational pairings predict their childbearing behavior. We focus on differences in first, second and third birth rates between couples with varying combinations of partners’ education. Our results show that there are important differences in how education relates to parity progressions depending on the education of the partner. First, highly educated homogamous couples show a distinct childbearing behavior in most country clusters. They tend to postpone the first birth most and display the highest second and third birth rates subsequently. Second, contrary to what may be expected based on the New Home Economics, hypergamous couples with a highly educated male and a lower educated female partner display among the lowest second birth transitions. Our findings underscore the relevance of interacting both partners’ education for a better understanding of the education-fertility relationship.
2018
55
1195
1232
Nitsche, Natalie; Matysiak, Anna; Van Bavel, Jan; Vignoli, Daniele
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Nitsche2018_Article_PartnersEducationalPairingsAnd.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Pdf editoriale (Version of record)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 1.48 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.48 MB Adobe PDF

I documenti in FLORE sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/1107229
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 34
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 36
social impact