Additional Work, Family Agriculture, and the Birth of a First or a Second Child in Russia at the Beginning of the 1990s

Abstract

At the beginning of the transition period, many Russian households faced substantial economic hardships and uncertainties. An economic downturn had become one of the major factors responsible for the significant and rapid decline of Russian fertility. However, many households tried to cope with this situation by engaging in multiple income generating activities and the cultivation of food on private plots of land. The question therefore arises whether these activities had a positive impact on fertility decisions. This paper explores the association between additional employment or subsistence measures (second jobs, part-time self-employment, and part-time family agriculture) and the probability to have a first or a second child in Russia during 1990 and the spring of 1993. Data from 966 respondents from the Russian component of the survey “Social Stratification in Eastern Europe after 1989: General Population Survey” show that activities that generate an additional income were positively associated with the birth of a second child. This is especially the case if these activities produce half of a respondent's or her household's income. The birth of a second child was also positively associated with the fact that a household consumed food that was cultivated by the household itself. However, none of these activities was significantly connected with the birth of a first child.