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Non-marital childbearing in Russia: second demographic transition or pattern of disadvantage?

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  • Brienna Perelli-Harris

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

  • Theodore P. Gerber

Abstract

Using retrospective union, birth, and education histories that span 1980-2003, this study investigates nonmarital childbearing in post-Soviet Russia. We employ a combination of methods to decompose fertility rates by union status and analyze the processes that lead to a nonmarital birth. We find that the primary cause of the increase in the proportion of nonmarital births is not due to the changing fertility behavior of cohabitors, nor to changes in union behavior after conception, but due to the increasing proportion of women who cohabit before conception. We also find that the relationship between education and nonmarital childbearing has not changed over time; the least educated women have the highest birth rates within cohabitation and as single mothers, primarily due to a lower probability of legitimating a nonmarital conception. Based on these findings, we argue that Russia has more in common with the pattern of disadvantage in the United States, as opposed to the trends described by the second demographic transition. We also find several aspects of non-marital childbearing that neither of these perspectives anticipates.

Suggested Citation

  • Brienna Perelli-Harris & Theodore P. Gerber, 2009. "Non-marital childbearing in Russia: second demographic transition or pattern of disadvantage?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-007, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2009-007
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2009-007
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kelly Musick, 2007. "Cohabitation, nonmarital childbearing, and the marriage process," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 16(9), pages 249-286.
    2. Catherine Kenney & Sara McLanahan, 2006. "Why are cohabiting relationships more violent than marriages?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(1), pages 127-140, February.
    3. Sara Mclanahan, 2004. "Diverging destinies: How children are faring under the second demographic transition," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(4), pages 607-627, November.
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    5. Magdalena Muszyńska-Spielauer, 2008. "Women’s employment and union dissolution in a changing socio-economic context in Russia," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 18(6), pages 181-204.
    6. Mroz, Thomas A & Popkin, Barry M, 1995. "Poverty and the Economic Transition in the Russian Federation," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 1-31, October.
    7. Jan M. Hoem & Aiva Jasilioniene & Dora Kostova & Cornelia Mureşan, 2007. "Traces of the Second Demographic Transition in four selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe: union formation as a demographic manifestation," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2007-026, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    8. Michael J. Brien & Lee A. Hillard & Linda Waite, "undated". "Cohabitation, Marriage, and Non-Fertility," University of Chicago - Population Research Center 97-5, Chicago - Population Research Center.
    9. Johan Surkyn & Ron Lesthaeghe, 2004. "Value Orientations and the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) in Northern, Western and Southern Europe: An Update," Demographic Research Special Collections, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 3(3), pages 45-86.
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    11. Tomáš Sobotka & Kryštof Zeman & Vladimíra Kantorová, 2003. "Demographic Shifts in the Czech Republic after 1989: A Second Demographic Transition View," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 19(3), pages 249-277, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anna Baranowska, 2011. "Premarital conceptions and their resolution. The decomposition of trends in rural and urban areas in Poland 1985-2009," Working Papers 27, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.
    2. Theodore P. Gerber & Danielle Berman, 2010. "Entry to Marriage and Cohabitation in Russia, 1985–2000: Trends, Correlates, and Implications for the Second Demographic Transition," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 26(1), pages 3-31, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Russian Federation; cohabitation; family; fertility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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