Fertility Reactions to the "Great Recession" in Europe

Joshua R. Goldstein, Michaela Kreyenfeld, Aiva Jasilioniene and Deniz Karaman Örsal
Additional contact information
Joshua R. Goldstein: University of California, Berkeley
Michaela Kreyenfeld: Hertie School of Governance
Aiva Jasilioniene: Max-Planck-Institut für Demografische Forschung

Demographic Research, 2013, vol. 29, issue 4, 85-104

Abstract: Objective: This paper provides recent cross-national evidence of the impact of the great recession on fertility in Europe in the context of the recent decade. Methods: Using data from the Human Fertility Database (HFD), from Eurostat, and from the OECD database, we employ fixed-effects modeling to study how changes in unemployment rates have affected birth rates across Europe. Results: We find that countries that were hit hard by the recession show reduced fertility when compared with a continuation of recent trends, especially at younger ages. Conclusions: Our results indicate a strong relationship between economic conditions and fertility. However, there is variation by region, age, and parity suggesting the importance of life course and institutional factors.

Keywords: fertility; birth order; Europe; unemployment; uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (32)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:29:y:2013:i:4

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2013.29.4

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