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Examining the link: educational expansion and non-marital fertility in Croatia

Author

Listed:
  • Petra Međimurec

    (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business, Department of Demography, Zagreb (Croatia))

  • Ivan Čipin

    (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business, Department of Demography, Zagreb (Croatia))

  • Dario Mustač

    (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business, Department of Demography, Zagreb (Croatia))

Abstract

This paper studies the macro-level relationship between education and non-marital fertility in Croatia. Using vital statistics on first births from 1984 to 2021, we explored non-marital fertility trends by mothers’ education and assessed the influence of women’s educational expansion. We observed a significant increase in the proportion of non-marital births, from under 10% in the mid-1980s to over 30% by 2021. Decomposition analysis showed that behavioural changes, particularly among medium-educated women, significantly influenced the increase in non-marital fertility. This group increasingly opted for childbearing outside of marriage. High-educated women also contributed to the trend, with the behavioural changes more modest in comparison to those of medium-educated women, but amplified by an increase in their group size. Direct standardization showed that higher educational attainment among first-time mothers moderated the proportion of non-marital births, suggesting that the proportion of non-marital births could have been even higher had the educational composition remained constant at 1984 levels. The study confirmed a persistent negative educational gradient, where lower educational attainment was associated with a higher likelihood of non-marital childbearing. The results have important implications for policymakers, as discussed in the paper.

Suggested Citation

  • Petra Međimurec & Ivan Čipin & Dario Mustač, 2024. "Examining the link: educational expansion and non-marital fertility in Croatia," Stanovnistvo, Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade, Serbia, vol. 62(S1), pages 37-55, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eto:stanov:v:62:y:2024:i:s1:id:622
    DOI: 10.59954/stnv.622
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Máire Ní Bhrolcháin & ÉVa Beaujouan, 2013. "Education and Cohabitation in Britain: A Return to Traditional Patterns?," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 39(3), pages 441-458, September.
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    3. Jan Van Bavel, 2012. "The reversal of gender inequality in education, union formation and fertility in Europe," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 10(1), pages 127-154.
    4. Brienna Perelli‐Harris & Wendy Sigle‐Rushton & Michaela Kreyenfeld & Trude Lappegård & Renske Keizer & Caroline Berghammer, 2010. "The Educational Gradient of Childbearing within Cohabitation in Europe," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(4), pages 775-801, December.
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