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Estimating male fertility in eastern and western Germany since 1991: A new lowest low?

Author

Listed:
  • Christian Dudel

    (Max-Planck-Institut für Demografische Forschung)

  • Sebastian Kluesener

    (Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB))

Abstract

Background: Research on fertility differentials between eastern and western Germany after German reunification in 1990 has focused on the fertility of women. Trends in the fertility of men are rarely studied due to data constraints and methodological challenges. Objective: This paper aims to close this gap by analyzing fertility differentials between eastern and western German males over the period 1991-2013. We consider different approaches to estimate male fertility and investigate variation in fertility trends, levels, and timing. Methods: We use German birth register data to estimate age-specific fertility rates and total fertility rates. As the paternal age is unknown for a non-negligible proportion of births, we compare imputation techniques and conduct sensitivity analyses. For the population at risk we employ adjusted numbers that attempt to account for the overcount in the population of childbearing age in the 1990s and the 2000s. Results: The trends and differences in the fertility of eastern and western German men are roughly similar to those observed among women. However, male fertility levels are lower, and male and female fertility vary in terms of timing. The total fertility rate of eastern German males in 1994 of 0.74 is likely to represent a record low. Whereas the fertility levels of eastern German women recently surpassed those of western German women, the fertility levels of eastern German men are still lower than those of their western German counterparts. Contribution: We compare methods to estimate male fertility trends.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Dudel & Sebastian Kluesener, 2016. "Estimating male fertility in eastern and western Germany since 1991: A new lowest low?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(53), pages 1549-1560.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:35:y:2016:i:53
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2016.35.53
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Andreea Alexandra Piriu, 2022. "Globalization and Gender‐Specific Patterns in Individual Fertility Decisions," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(1), pages 129-160, March.
    4. Dudel, Christian & Klüsener, Sebastian, 2019. "New opportunities for comparative male fertility research: Insights from a new data resource based on high-quality birth registers," SocArXiv 8kqws, Center for Open Science.
    5. Bruno Schoumaker, 2017. "Measuring male fertility rates in developing countries with Demographic and Health Surveys: An assessment of three methods," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(28), pages 803-850.
    6. Chen Luo & Ewa Jarosz & Anna Matysiak, 2025. "Childbearing in the Knowledge-Based Society: Job-Related Learning Demands and the Transition to Parenthood in Germany," Working Papers 2025-29, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    7. Christian Dudel & Sebastian Klüsener, 2021. "Male–Female Fertility Differentials Across 17 High-Income Countries: Insights From A New Data Resource," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(2), pages 417-441, April.
    8. Christian Dudel & Sebastian Klüsener, 2019. "New opportunities for comparative male fertility research: insights from a new data resource based on high-quality birth registers," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2019-023, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    9. Henrik-Alexander Schubert & Christian Dudel, 2025. "Subnational birth squeezes: male-female TFR differences across eight high- and middle-income countries over time," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2025-025, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    10. Anne-Sophie Oehrlein & Christof Wolf, 2025. "The surge in living alone among young and middle-aged adults: A decomposition analysis of the rise in one-person households in Germany, 1991 to 2021," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 52(32), pages 1037-1050.
    11. Linus Andersson, 2023. "The Role of Gender Differences in Partnering and Re-partnering for Gender Differences in Completed Fertility," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(2), pages 1-28, April.
    12. Christian Dudel & Sebastian Klüsener, 2017. "Estimating male fertility from vital registration data with missing values," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2017-019, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
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    14. Dudel, Christian & Klüsener, Sebastian, 2019. "Male fertility data for 17 high-income countries: Data documentation and methods," SocArXiv 9sx58, Center for Open Science.
    15. Bauer, Thomas K. & Rulff, Christian & Tamminga, Michael M., 2019. "Berlin calling - Internal migration in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 823, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

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    JEL classification:

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

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