Labour market integration, occupational uncertainty, and fertility choices in Germany and the UK

Christian Schmitt

Demographic Research, 2012, vol. 26, issue 12, 253-292

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to investigate how occupational prospects affect first-birth decisions of men and women. Contrasting the continental conservative German welfare state with the liberal market economy of the UK, the focus of analyses rests on how welfare state alignment affects fertility rationales in the context of either promising or bleak occupational prospects. The results based on data from BHPS and GSOEP show that welfare state orientations influence work-family choices, evoking a delay of family formation among British and German women with a close labour market attachment. Furthermore, a lengthy process of occupational integration tends to hamper the transition to parenthood among both men and women, and particularly in Germany.

Keywords: fertility; first birth; occupational integration; cross-national comparison; occupational uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (50)

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Journal Article: Labour Market Integration, Occupational Uncertainty, and Fertility Choices in Germany and the UK (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:26:y:2012:i:12

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2012.26.12

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