Realisation of Fertility Intentions in Austria and Hungary: Are Capitals Different?

Abstract

The study of fertility intentions has gained importance in the literature during the last decades. Nevertheless, research focussing on their realisation is still scarce due to limited availability of longitudinal data. Although a bulk of existing studies demonstrated regional variation and rural-urban differences in fertility, respective differences in the realisation of fertility intentions have not been addressed in prior research. We address this shortcoming by analysing the realisation of short-term fertility intentions in Vienna and Budapest as opposed to the remaining parts of Austria and Hungary, using two waves of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS). Results clearly demonstrate that those two capitals are different: Although short-term childbearing intentions are very similar in capitals and other parts of the countries, probabilities of realisation are lower in capitals. These differences in realisation are at least partly explained by individual characteristics of inhabitants. There are, however, also factors that affect realisation differently in metropolitan than in less populated regions.