IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bon/boncrc/crctr224_2025_747.html

Low Fertility Around the World: The Role of Social Norms

Author

Listed:
  • Kanato Nakakuni

  • Michèle Tertilt

  • Minchul Yum

Abstract

This chapter examines how social norms shape fer lity behavior. We first present cross-country evidence linking fer lity to norms regarding family size, childcare, gender roles, paren ng, and sexual behavior. We also review empirical studies showing substan al fer lity spillovers within families, workplaces, and social networks. To interpret these pa erns, we present a series of models to clarify the mechanisms through which norms and fer lity decisions interact. We organize the theories by type of norm: norms about ideal family size, norms governing the use of market childcare, gender norms within the household, paren ng norms related to educa onal investment and social comparison, and norms surrounding birth control. We discuss how changes in social norms over me may have contributed to fer lity decline. Finally, we highlight promising direc ons for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Kanato Nakakuni & Michèle Tertilt & Minchul Yum, 2026. "Low Fertility Around the World: The Role of Social Norms," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_747, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_747
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.crctr224.de/research/discussion-papers/archive/dp747
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard A. Easterlin, 1968. "Population, Labor Force, and Long Swings in Economic Growth: The American Experience," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number east68-1, May.
    2. James Feyrer & Bruce Sacerdote & Ariel Dora Stern, 2008. "Will the Stork Return to Europe and Japan? Understanding Fertility within Developed Nations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 3-22, Summer.
    3. Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & Jeremy Greenwood & Nezih Guner, 2014. "From Shame To Game In One Hundred Years: An Economic Model Of The Rise In Premarital Sex And Its De-Stigmatization," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 25-61, February.
    4. Bettio, Francesca & Villa, Paola, 1998. "A Mediterranean Perspective on the Breakdown of the Relationship between Participation and Fertility," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 22(2), pages 137-171, March.
    5. Okuyama, Yoko, 2026. "Empowering women through radio: Evidence from Occupied Japan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    6. Claudia Olivetti & Barbara Petrongolo, 2017. "The Economic Consequences of Family Policies: Lessons from a Century of Legislation in High-Income Countries," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 205-230, Winter.
    7. Federico Ciliberto & Amalia R. Miller & Helena Skyt Nielsen & Marianne Simonsen, 2016. "Playing The Fertility Game At Work: An Equilibrium Model Of Peer Effects," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57, pages 827-856, August.
    8. Federico Ciliberto & Amalia R. Miller & Helena Skyt Nielsen & Marianne Simonsen, 2016. "Playing The Fertility Game At Work: An Equilibrium Model Of Peer Effects," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57(3), pages 827-856, August.
    9. Pauline Rossi & Yun Xiao, 2024. "Spillovers in Childbearing Decisions and Fertility Transitions: Evidence from China," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 161-199.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lukas Mahler & Michele Tertilt & Minchul Yum, 2025. "Policy Concerns in an Era of Low Fertility: The Role of Social Comparisons and Intensive Parenting," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 56(2 (Fall)), pages 293-369.
    2. Matthias Doepke & Anne Hannusch & Fabian Kindermann & Michèle Tertilt, 2022. "The Economics of Fertility: A New Era," Working Papers 2022-012, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    3. Elizabeth Brainerd & Olga Malkova, 2026. "How religion mediates the fertility response to maternity benefits," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 64(2), pages 508-532, April.
    4. Maria De Paola & Roberto Nisticò & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2024. "Workplace Peer Effects in Fertility Decisions," CSEF Working Papers 714, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 01 Sep 2025.
    5. Bethencourt, Carlos & Santos-Torres, Daniel, 2023. "Gender-role identity in adolescence and women fertility in adulthood," MPRA Paper 116321, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Anne Ardila Brenøe & Serena Canaan & Nikolaj A. Harmon & Heather N. Royer, 2024. "Is Parental Leave Costly for Firms and Coworkers?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(4), pages 1135-1174.
    7. Ritika Sethi, 2022. "Can Desegregation Close the Racial Gap in High School Coursework?," Papers 2208.12321, arXiv.org, revised Jul 2023.
    8. Steinhauer, Andreas, 2018. "Working Moms, Childlessness, and Female Identity," CEPR Discussion Papers 12929, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    9. Humlum, Maria Knoth & Kristoffersen, Jannie H.G. & Vejlin, Rune, 2017. "College admissions decisions, educational outcomes, and family formation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 215-230.
    10. Nicoletta Balbo & Francesco C. Billari & Melinda Mills, 2013. "Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 1-38, February.
    11. Farré, Lídia & González, Libertad, 2019. "Does paternity leave reduce fertility?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 52-66.
    12. Pauline Rossi & Yun Xiao, 2024. "Spillovers in Childbearing Decisions and Fertility Transitions: Evidence from China," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(1), pages 161-199.
    13. Di Gioacchino, Debora & Ghignoni, Emanuela & Verashchagina, Alina, 2025. "Career break around childbirth: the role of individual preferences and social norms," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1564, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    14. Akira Yakita, 2018. "Fertility and education decisions and child-care policy effects in a Nash-bargaining family model," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(4), pages 1177-1201, October.
    15. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1a68qg411o9bg9jp7fhgh60n5p is not listed on IDEAS
    16. William P. Butz, 2008. "First, do no harm," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 6(1), pages 35-38.
    17. Daiji KAWAGUCHI & Takahiro TORIYABE, 2018. "Parental Leaves and Female Skill Utilization: Evidence from PIAAC," Discussion papers 18003, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    18. Anqi LI & Shiko MARUYAMA & Yangyang ZHANG, 2026. "When the Last Big Arrow Was Loosed: How the One-Child Policy relaxations reshaped fertility trends in China," Discussion papers 26001, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    19. Yang, Yumeng & Li, Yunong & Sheng, Han & Zhou, Mao, 2026. "Producing more, reproducing less: The demographic costs of China's export success," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    20. García-Manglano, Javier & Nollenberger, Natalia & Sevilla, Almudena, 2014. "Gender, Time-Use, and Fertility Recovery in Industrialized Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 8613, IZA Network @ LISER.
    21. Bethencourt, Carlos & Santos, Daniel, 2025. "Gender-role identity in adolescence and women fertility in adulthood," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_747. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CRC Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.crctr224.de .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.