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Childrearing responsibility and stepfamily fertility in Finland and Austria

Author

Listed:
  • Andres Vikat

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Elizabeth Thomson
  • Alexia Prskawetz

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

We investigate the hypothesis that the propensity of a stepfamily couple to have a shared child is inversely related to the responsibility for rearing pre-union children. We compare effects of coresident pre-union children to those of nonresident, and effects of the woman’s children to those of the man’s. Shared children and stepchildren reduce the risk of a birth to a couple, and the reduction is larger for each shared child than for a stepchild. We found larger effects of coresident pre-union children than of nonresident children, and larger effects of a woman’s pre-union children than of a man’s. The differences were more pronounced in Austria where public support for childrearing and gender equality is lower than in Finland. Our study demonstrates that in addition to the number of pre-union children, coresidence and parentage of pre-union children also need to be considered in future fertility research.

Suggested Citation

  • Andres Vikat & Elizabeth Thomson & Alexia Prskawetz, 2003. "Childrearing responsibility and stepfamily fertility in Finland and Austria," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2003-001, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2003-001
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2003-001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sofie Vanassche & Martine Corijn & Koen Matthijs & Gray Swicegood, 2015. "Repartnering and Childbearing After Divorce: Differences According to Parental Status and Custodial Arrangements," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 34(5), pages 761-784, October.
    2. Hill Kulu, 2004. "Fertility of internal migrants: comparison between Austria and Poland," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2004-022, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    3. Nick Parr, 2010. "Satisfaction with life as an antecedent of fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(21), pages 635-662.
    4. Jan Van Bavel & Mieke Jansen & Belinda Wijckmans, 2012. "Has Divorce Become a Pro-Natal Force in Europe at the Turn of the 21st Century?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 31(5), pages 751-775, October.
    5. Gianluca Egidi & Luca Salvati & Andrea Falcone & Giovanni Quaranta & Rosanna Salvia & Renata Vcelakova & Antonio Giménez-Morera, 2021. "Re-Framing the Latent Nexus between Land-Use Change, Urbanization and Demographic Transitions in Advanced Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, January.
    6. Christine Schnor & Sofie Vanassche & Jan Van Bavel, 2017. "Stepfather or biological father? Education-specific pathways of postdivorce fatherhood," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(51), pages 1659-1694.
    7. Alexia Prskawetz & Tomáš Sobotka & Isabella Buber-Ennser & Henriette Engelhardt & Richard Gisser, 2008. "Austria: Persistent low fertility since the mid-1980s," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(12), pages 293-360.
    8. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, 2017. "Is Stepfamily Status Associated With Cohabiting and Married Women’s Fertility Behaviors?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 45-70, February.
    9. Jui-Chung Allen Li, 2006. "The institutionalization and pace of fertility in American stepfamilies," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 14(12), pages 237-266.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Austria; Finland; child rearing; family composition; fertility determinants;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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