The Interplay of Family Systems, Social Networks and Fertility in Europe Cohorts Born Between 1920 and 1960

Bastian Mönkediek,Hilde A.J Bras

doi:10.1080/20780389.2015.1109441

Abstract

ABSTRACTDespite important variations in regional family systems, little research has been done to assess the effects of these differences on fertility and thus on families’ economic status. Even less attention has been paid to the effects of deviating from these regionally embedded norms in terms of network compositions. People's social networks may not conform to the region's view of the ideal family, while this could have important implications for their fertility behaviour. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper aims to answer two questions: to what extent do family systems shape family size, and to what extent do deviations from regional family system norms in terms of social network composition result in differences in completed fertility? To answer these questions, we use the first two waves of the ‘Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement’ and derive indicators describing regional family systems and people's social networks. We test the influence of these covariates on the completed fertility of cohorts born between 1920 and 1960 in 13 European countries. Our results show that family system norms, and deviations from them in terms of specific social networks, play an important role in determining family size.

Highlights

Persistent regional differences in fertility can be observed across Europe
Our results show that family system norms, and deviations from them in terms of specific social networks, play an important role in determining family size
Apart from that, the variation in network indicators is comparatively high in most central European countries, as represented by their country averages (Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland)

Summary

Introduction

Persistent regional differences in fertility can be observed across Europe. To explain the differences, researchers have drawn on economic factors (Becker & Barro 1988) and cultural factors (Lesthaeghe & Neels 2002, 349–351; Dalla Zuanna 2007, 442) and on differences in family systems (Macfarlane 1981; Micheli 2005, 80; Viazzo 2010a, 2010b). Recent research on fertility emphasizes social networks containing strong and weak ties that affect demographic behaviour (Chen 2006; Bühler & Fratczak 2007; Bernardi & White 2010, 181; Sear & Coall 2011; Keim 2011; Balbo 2012; Bernardi & Klärner 2014) These studies do not take family systems into account but focus rather on kin relations (for instance sibling ties) or are restricted to one region or country, limiting the possibility of comparing spatial variations in family systems (Ettrich et al 1999, Kohler et al 2001; Madhavan et al 2003; Sear et al 2003; Bühler 2004; Bühler & Philipov 2005; Bühler & Fratczak 2007; see Balbo 2012, 9)

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