Abstract
This paper analyses the increase in non-marital childbearing in the Czech Republic during the first two decades following the demise of state socialism. The proportion of mothers who gave birth as unmarried increased more than fourfold during this period. The aim is to explain the reasons for this increase and its socioeconomic variation. Three explanations are tested: growing individualisation, increasing economic uncertainty, and adjustment to a policy that provided more support for single mothers. Data, taken from the national birth register, regarding the marital status of mothers are used to estimate multilevel models with contexts defined by combinations of regions and years. The results are most in line with the first explanation: the change in values due to a rise in individualism and personal autonomy. Economic uncertainty is also found to have a moderate effect among women with up to a secondary education, especially the lower (vocational) level. The influence of policy is weak and is limited to mothers with the lowest level of education.
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