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The quality of periodic fertility measures in EU-SILC

Author

Listed:
  • Angela Greulich

    (Sciences Po)

  • Aurélien Dasré

    (Université Paris Nanterre)

Abstract

Background: The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) are increasingly used in demographic analysis, due to their large country coverage, the availability of harmonized socioeconomic measures, and the possibility to merge partners. However, so far there exists no comprehensive analysis of the representativeness of the fertility behavior reported by EU-SILC. Objective: This paper quantifies the quality of periodic fertility measures in EU-SILC. Methods: We compare periodic fertility measures obtained with EU-SILC to unbiased measures from the Human Fertility Database (HFD) for several European countries, by applying a cross-sectional perspective. Results: We show that EU-SILC measures of periodic fertility are biased downward, mainly due to attrition, while births of order one for ages 20‒29 are particularly underreported. However, we find no evidence of socioeconomic differentials in attrition. Conclusions: Our results suggest that for the majority of European countries, EU-SILC can be used for the analysis of childbearing behavior when respecting the measures of precaution mentioned in this article. Contribution: These precautions contain, for example, applying a retrospective approach and differentiating by rotation groups when calculating aggregate measures of periodic fertility.

Suggested Citation

  • Angela Greulich & Aurélien Dasré, 2017. "The quality of periodic fertility measures in EU-SILC," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(17), pages 525-556.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:36:y:2017:i:17
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.17
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Angela Greulich & Laurent Toulemon, 2023. "Measuring the educational gradient of period fertility in 28 European countries: A new approach based on parity-specific fertility estimates," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 49(34), pages 905-968.
    2. Enrico Fabrizi & Chiara Mussida, 2018. "Assessing poverty persistence in households with dependent children: the role of poverty measurement," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises1839, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    3. Angela Greulich & Michael S. Rendall, 2026. "An Ongoing Gender Revolution in Europe: Women’s Stable Employment as a Precondition for Partnered First Births," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 45(1), pages 1-35, February.
    4. Sonja Spitzer & Angela Greulich & Bernhard Hammer, 2022. "The Subjective Cost of Young Children: A European Comparison," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 1165-1189, October.
    5. Hippolyte d'Albis & Angela Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2017. "Education, labour, and the demographic consequences of birth postponement in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(23), pages 691-728.
    6. Sonja Spitzer & Angela Greulich & Bernhard Hammer, 2018. "The Subjective Cost of Young Children: A European Comparison," VID Working Papers 1812, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    7. Enrico Fabrizi & Chiara Mussida, 2020. "Assessing poverty persistence in households with children," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 18(4), pages 551-569, December.
    8. Angela Greulich & Sonja Spitzer & Bernhard Hammer, 2022. "The Subjective Cost of Young Children: A European Comparison," Post-Print hal-03677151, HAL.
    9. Hippolyte d'Albis & Angela Greulich & Grégory Ponthière, 2017. "Education, labour, and the demographic consequences of birth postponement in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(23), pages 691-728.
    10. Natalie Nitsche & Anna Matysiak & Jan Bavel & Daniele Vignoli, 2018. "Partners’ Educational Pairings and Fertility Across Europe," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(4), pages 1195-1232, August.
    11. Angela Greulich & Sonja Spitzer & Bernhard Hammer, 2022. "The Subjective Cost of Young Children: A European Comparison," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) hal-03677151, HAL.
    12. Anna Lovasz & Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, 2017. "The Impact of Parenthood on the Gender Wage Gap – a Comparative Analysis of 26 European Countries," Budapest Working Papers on the Labour Market 1715, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.

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

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