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Out-Of-Partnership Births in East and West Germany

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  • Jirjahn, Uwe

    (University of Trier)

  • Struewing, Cornelia

    (University of Trier)

Abstract

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we show that single women in East Germany are significantly more likely to give birth to a child than single women in West Germany. This applies to both planned and unplanned births. Our analysis provides no evidence that the difference between East and West Germany can be explained by economic factors or the higher availability of child care in East Germany. This suggests that the difference in out-of-partnership births is rather driven by behavioral and cultural differences. However, these behavioral and cultural differences do not only reflect different gender role models that evolved under the former communist regime in East Germany and the democratic one in West Germany. Partly, they also reflect a long historical divide that predates the 1945 separation of Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Jirjahn, Uwe & Struewing, Cornelia, 2019. "Out-Of-Partnership Births in East and West Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 12234, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12234
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    Cited by:

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    2. Uwe Jirjahn & Martha Ottenbacher, 2023. "Big Five personality traits and sex," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(2), pages 549-580, April.
    3. Nadia Sturm & Judith C. Koops & Roberta Rutigliano, 2023. "The Influence of Partnership Status on Fertility Intentions of Childless Women and Men Across European Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-34, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    West Germany; East Germany; culture; gender role models; unpartnered birth; politico-economic systems;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • P20 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - General

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