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Do the More-Educated Prefer Smaller Families?

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Listed:
  • Frank Heiland
  • Alexia Prskawetz
  • Warren C. Sanderson

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between education and desired family size in Western Europe. Using rich individual-level data from West Germany we find that more-educated men and women are more likely to prefer a family of three (or more) children over a family of two children compared to individuals with average schooling. We also find some evidence that the more-educated are less likely to favor childlessness or the one-child family over having two children. Replication of the analysis with multinational data indicates that this novel relationship holds more broadly in Western Europe. Since higher education is associated with lower realized fertility, we confirm that the gap between desired and actual fertility is largest for the more-educated. We argue that these individuals deserve more attention in the current policy debate since their fertility may be particularly responsive to interventions that help them remove the obstacles to having the family of two or more children that many of them still desire.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank Heiland & Alexia Prskawetz & Warren C. Sanderson, 2005. "Do the More-Educated Prefer Smaller Families?," VID Working Papers 0503, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    • Handle: RePEc:vid:wpaper:0503
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    Cited by:

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    3. Colleen Ray & Sela Harcey & Arthur Greil & Stacy Tiemeyer & Julia McQuillan, 2018. "Stability and change in personal fertility ideals among U.S. women in heterosexual relationships," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(16), pages 459-486.
    4. David De Wachter & Karel Neels, 2011. "Educational differentials in fertility intentions and outcomes: family formation in Flanders in the early 1990s," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 9(1), pages 227-258.
    5. Henriette Engelhardt & Alexia Prskawetz, 2005. "Socioeconomic patterns and determinants of adult mortality due to external-causes in India: Analysis of nationally-representative, population-based survey data," VID Working Papers 0502, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    6. Tomo Nishimura, 2012. "What are the factors of the gap between desired and actual fertility? - A comparative study of four developed countries," Discussion Paper Series 81, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, revised Feb 2012.
    7. Frank Heiland & Alexia Prskawetz & Warren C. Sanderson, 2008. "Are Individuals’ Desired Family Sizes Stable? Evidence from West German Panel Data," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 24(2), pages 129-156, June.
    8. Tomáš Sobotka, 2009. "Sub-Replacement Fertility Intentions in Austria [Intentions de fécondité inférieures au seuil de remplacement en Autriche]," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 387-412, November.

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