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Educational differentials in cohort fertility during the fertility transition in South Korea

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  • Sam Hyun Yoo

    (Hanyang University)

Abstract

Background: While there has been a considerable amount of research on the association between women’s education and fertility rates, few of these studies have examined the pattern of fertility differentials over the course of the fertility transition. As a country that has experienced a rapid decline in fertility and marked improvements in women’s educational attainment over the last several decades, South Korea represents an ideal case for studying this dynamic association. Objective: The aim of the article is to explain the pattern of fertility differentials by level of education and the contribution of the changes in women’s educational attainment to the fertility decline during the fertility transition in South Korea. Methods: Drawing upon data from the Korean censuses conducted between 1970 and 2010, I analyze completed cohort fertility for women born between 1926 and 1970 using demographic-decomposition techniques and cohort parity progression ratios by level of education. Results: The differences in fertility by educational attainment have gradually declined over the transition, with fertility almost converging at a low level among recent birth cohorts. Fertility in South Korea had been declining in all of the social groups until the sub-replacement fertility was reached. The change in women’s educational attainment then became an important factor in the further decline in fertility. The trend toward fewer children quickly spread from the most educated to the least educated women throughout the fertility transition. Conclusions: The transformation of fertility behaviors across social strata has been a key element in the Korean fertility transition. Although educational expansion, particularly the introduction of mass education, has contributed to falling fertility in South Korea, the role of education in fertility decline is more pronounced in the diffusion of innovative ideas and behaviors, which reduced fertility differentials across social strata.

Suggested Citation

  • Sam Hyun Yoo, 2014. "Educational differentials in cohort fertility during the fertility transition in South Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(53), pages 1463-1494.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:30:y:2014:i:53
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.53
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    3. Sam Hyun Yoo & Victor Agadjanian, 2021. "The paradox of change: Religion and fertility decline in South Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(23), pages 537-562.
    4. Joan E. Madia & Francesco Moscone & Asieh Hosseini Tabaghdehi & Jong-Chol An & Changkeun Lee, 2024. "Fertility Decline and Tax Revenues in South Korea," FBK-IRVAPP Working Papers 2024-02, Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies (IRVAPP), Bruno Kessler Foundation.
    5. Sang-Hyeon Ju & Sang-Yup Lee & Young-Chool Choi & Seong-Ho Yoon & Sang-Geun Kim & Gyutae Lee, 2026. "Exploring Public Perceptions of Korea’s Low Fertility Crisis: A Q Methodological Approach," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 45(4), pages 1-27, August.
    6. Sam Hyun Yoo & Tomáš Sobotka, 2018. "Ultra-low fertility in South Korea: The role of the tempo effect," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(22), pages 549-576.
    7. Sojung Lim, 2021. "Socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(39), pages 941-978.
    8. İşcan, Talan B. & Lim, Kyoung Mook, 2022. "Structural transformation and inequality: The case of South Korea," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    9. Sam Hyun Yoo & Sarah R. Hayford & Victor Agadjanian, 2017. "Old Habits Die Hard? Lingering Son Preference in an Era of Normalizing Sex Ratios at Birth in South Korea," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 36(1), pages 25-54, February.
    10. Seongsoo Choi, 2018. "Fewer mothers with more colleges? The impacts of expansion in higher education on first marriage and first childbirth," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(20), pages 593-634.
    11. Narae Park & Sangita Vyas & Kathleen Broussard & Dean Spears, 2023. "Near-universal marriage, early childbearing, and low fertility: India’s alternative fertility transition," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(34), pages 945-956.
    12. Ann Berrington & Juliet Stone & Eva Beaujouan, 2015. "Educational differences in timing and quantum of childbearing in Britain," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(26), pages 733-764.
    13. Pau Baizan & Wanli Nie, 2024. "The Impact of Education on Fertility During the Chinese Reform Era (1980–2018): Changes Across Birth Cohorts and Interaction with Fertility Policies," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 40(1), pages 1-36, December.
    14. Liu, Yansui & Li, Xuhong & Guo, Yuanzhi, 2024. "Exploring land system reform for demographic transition in rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    15. Sam Hyun Yoo, 2016. "Postponement and recuperation in cohort marriage: The experience of South Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(35), pages 1045-1078.
    16. José Henrique Costa Monteiro da Silva & Everton E. Lima & Maria Coleta Ferreira Albino de Oliveira, 2022. "Educational pairings and fertility decline in Brazil: An analysis using cohort fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(6), pages 147-178.
    17. Batyra, Ewa & Leone, Tiziana & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2022. "Forecasting of cohort fertility by educational level in countries with limited data availability: the case of Brazil," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 116627, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    18. Jolene Tan & Shao-Tzu Yu, 2024. "A life course perspective: women’s childhood background and family formation trajectories in low-fertility South Korea," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 1-16, June.
    19. Madia, Joan E. & Moscone, Francesco & Tabaghdehi, Asieh Hosseini & An, Jong-Chol & Lee, Changkeun, 2025. "Fertility decline and tax revenues in South Korea," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2).
    20. Jianlin Niu & Yaqiang Qi, 2020. "The educational differential in fertility in transitional China: Temporal and regional variation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(22), pages 657-688.

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    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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