Differences In Fertility Research Articles

Welfare regime patterns in the social class-fertility relationship: Second births in Austria, France, Norway, and the United Kingdom

This paper develops a theoretical framework to analyze the relationship between social class and fertility. The framework borrows elements from social class analysis, institutional perspectives on the labor market and fertility, and welfare and gender regime theories. I hypothesize that individuals’ social class positions impinge on their economic security, employment–parenthood role compatibility, and gender relations, which are key variables in the explanation of fertility in contemporary postindustrial societies. Different combinations of these variables for each social class and country lead to class-specific fertility patterns. I use Austrian, French, Norwegian, and British samples from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, for the years 2004–2015, and discrete-time event–history analysis techniques to analyze second birth probabilities. A simultaneous equations approach is adopted to account for unobserved heterogeneity. The results document substantial differentials between social classes and distinct social class patterns for each country, consistently with the theoretical expectations. In Norway and France, overall high levels of second birth probabilities are found that follow a positive social ordering. In the United Kingdom and Austria, a U-shaped relationship between class and second birth probabilities prevails. Once unobserved heterogeneity is accounted for in the analyses, social class shows a positive effect on fertility in the four countries. The results show that social class is not only key to understanding intracountry differentials in fertility but is also useful for understanding the functioning of the welfare regime and its relationship to overall levels of fertility.

Fertility Differences Between Migrants and Stayers in a Polygamous Context: Evidence from Senegal

This study takes a ‘country-of-origin’ or dissimilation perspective to compare the timing of births and completed fertility of international migrants and of those who stay at origin. In order to disentangle selection effects determining differential fertility behaviour of migrants, other mechanisms explaining migrant fertility (disruption, interrelation of events) are also examined. Furthermore, we take into consideration the prevalence of polygamy in Senegal to enhance our knowledge of migrant fertility in this specific context. For the empirical analysis, we use longitudinal data collected in the framework of the MAFE-Senegal project (Migrations between Africa and Europe), which includes retrospective life histories of non-migrants in Senegal and migrants in France, Italy and Spain. We estimate discrete time hazard models and Poisson regressions for male and female respondents separately to analyse the timing of first and higher-order births as well as completed fertility. The results show a strong disruptive effect of migration on childbearing probabilities for men and women, clearly related to the geographic separation of partners due to the out-migration of the man. Increased birth risks in the first year upon arrival could be observed for migrant women following their husbands to Europe, suggesting an interrelation of migration and fertility events. Regarding completed fertility, migrants have significantly fewer children by the age of 40 compared to their non-migrant counterparts, which among men is largely driven by a strong negative effect of polygamous migrants.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities of topsoil and subsoil of an annual maize-wheat rotation after 15-years of differential mineral and organic fertilization

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) could improve crop yield by nutrient uptake from soil. However, how AMF of topsoil and subsoil respond to long-term differential application of mineral and organic fertilizers and how they are influenced in presence of different crops and growth stages have never been assessed together. Next generation sequencing was applied to profile soil AMF communities in both topsoil and subsoil from a typical arable soil (Eutric Regosol) in the Sichuan Base, southwest China. Soils were collected at anthesis and harvest of winter wheat and maize after 15-years of differential fertilization of an annual maize-wheat rotation (same inputs of nitrogen, N; but different in carbon, C; phosphorus, P; and potassium, K): (i) no-fertilization control (CT), (ii) 100% mineral NPK fertilizer (NPK), (iii) 60% mineral N and 100% mineral PK plus 40% N as crop residues (NPKCR); and (iv) 60% mineral N and 100% mineral PK plus 40% N as pig (organic) manure (NPKOM). Compared to CT, AMF diversity significantly decreased in topsoil, but increased in subsoil for both wheat and maize under NPK, NPKCR and NPKOM. The AMF community composition differed between NPK and CT in both topsoil and subsoil of maize and wheat. Both distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) suggested that AMF communities in topsoil and subsoil of maize and wheat responded in differences in soil available P, soil organic carbon, fertilization and climate (temperature and/or rainfall). Fertilization and available N, not AMF community, had significantly positive effects on wheat and maize aboveground dry matter and grain yield. Results from the present study shed light on how AMF communities in topsoil and subsoil respond to different soil fertility management over the long-term. Insights of this study are valuable in managing an important part of biological soil fertility.

Parity disparity: Educational differences in Nordic fertility across parities and number of reproductive partners

Most research on trends in socio-economic fertility differences has focused on cohort total fertility and on women. This study aimed to analyse how cohort trends in parity-specific fertility differ across educational segments for men and women and what role multi-partner fertility plays in these trends. We used Finnish and Swedish register data on cohorts born in 1940–73/78. The main analyses used parity progression ratios, comparing ordinary ratios with similar ratios using births to first reproductive partners only. Among the low and medium educated, we observe strengthening parity polarization across cohorts, with increases in both childlessness and births of order three or higher, the latter largely reflecting increases in multi-partner fertility. Highly educated men and women more often have exactly two children. We demonstrate that cohort total fertility can mask significant parity-specific trends across educational groups and that changes in multi-partner fertility can play a part in cohort trends in socio-economic fertility differentials.

Racial Pairings and Fertility: Do Interracial Couples Have Fewer Children?

Our overall goal is largely descriptive-to compare recent fertility patterns between racially endogamous and exogamous couples in the United States. Evidence of lower fertility among exogamous or interracial couples arguably provides indirect evidence of social distance and cultural and economic integration. The growth of interracial marriage and cohabitation has fueled the rise in biracial or mixed-race children. Fertility rates are uneven among racial and ethnic groups, seemingly rooted in stigma and cultural differences (e.g., fertility norms). Whether fertility is different among interracial couples is unclear: Fertility rates that largely conform to the population of racially endogamous White couples provide evidence of social integration whereas differential fertility may reveal gender dynamics in fertility decision-making, including power relationships that depend on the race of male and female partners. We pool data from the 2008 to 2017 American Community Survey to compare past-year fertility patterns among endogamously and interracially married and cohabiting couples. Fertility is generally lower among racially exogamous than endogamous unions, especially among Asian American-White couples. Fertility among American Indian-White couples is much closer to patterns of White couples than of American Indian couples. Fertility among other interracial couples nevertheless varies by the race of male partners. That is, fertility of the Black male/White female and the Hispanic male/White female couples is similar to patterns found among endogamous Black and Hispanic couples, respectively. The White male/Black female and the White male/Hispanic female couples follow the fertility patterns of White couples. In general, the fertility levels of interracial couples are intermediate between those of endogamous White couples and their endogamous Black, Hispanic, or American Indian counterparts, but vary significantly by the race-gender mix of partners.

Evaluation of Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) for Estimating Soil Organic Matter and Phosphorus in Mediterranean Montado Ecosystem

The Montado is an agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem characteristic of the Mediterranean region. Pasture productivity and, consequently, the possibilities for intensifying livestock production depend on soil fertility. Soil organic matter (SOM) and phosphorus (P2O5) are two indicators of the evolution of soil fertility in this ecosystem. However, their conventional analytical determination by reference laboratory methods is costly, time consuming, and laborious and, thus, does not meet the needs of current production systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate an alternative approach to estimate SOM and soil P2O5 based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with multivariate data analysis. For this purpose, 242 topsoil samples were collected in 2019 in eleven fields. These samples were subjected to reference laboratory analysis and NIRS analysis. For NIRS, 165 samples were used during the calibration phase and 77 samples were used during the external validation phase. The results of this study showed significant correlation between NIRS calibration models and reference methods for quantification of these soil parameters. The coefficient of determination (R2, 0.85 for SOM and 0.76 for P2O5) and the residual predictive deviation (RPD, 2.7 for SOM and 2.2 for P2O5) obtained in external validation indicated the potential of NIRS to estimate SOM and P2O5, which can facilitate farm managers’ decision making in terms of dynamic management of animal grazing and differential fertilizer application.

Women differentials in fertility: The case of rural and urban educational development in Benue State, Nigeria

This study relates women education to fertility in the Ihugh (rural) and Makurdi (urban) setting in Benue State. The general purpose of the study is to test whether women with substantial schooling do have lower fertility than those without schooling. The study reveals that there is fertility differential for rural and urban settings, and that schooling is an index of the differentials. The study presents its findings and puts forward some recommendations that can help the government to address the issue of women education, especially the girl-child education.

Suburban Fertility and Metropolitan Cycles: Insights from European Cities

Being largely diversified along the urban–rural gradient, fertility gaps have demonstrated to fuel metropolitan expansion, contributing to natural population growth and social change. In this direction, population dynamics and economic transformations have continuously shaped urban cycles in Europe. Assuming suburban fertility to be a relevant engine of metropolitan growth, the present study investigates and discusses the intrinsic relationship between fertility transitions and urban expansion, focusing on European metropolitan regions. An average crude birth rate referring to the last decade (2013–2018) was estimated from official statistics at 671 Functional Urban Areas (FUAs, Eurostat Urban Audit definition) of 30 European countries, distinguishing ‘central cities’ from ‘suburban’ locations. Local contexts with a higher crude birth rate as compared with neighboring settlements were identified analyzing differential fertility levels in urban and suburban locations. By providing an indirect, comparative verification of the ‘suburban fertility hypothesis’ in European cities, the results of this study demonstrate how suburbanization has been basically associated to younger and larger families—and thus higher fertility levels—only in Eastern and Southern Europe. Birth rates that were higher in suburbs than in central cities were observed in 70% of Eastern European cities and 55% of Mediterranean cities. The reverse pattern was observed in Western (20%), Northern (25%) and Central (30%) Europe, suggesting that urban cycles in the European continent are not completely phased: most of Western, Central, and Northern European cities are experiencing re-urbanization after a long suburbanization wave. Demographic indicators are demonstrated to comprehensively delineate settlement patterns and socioeconomic trends along urban–suburban–rural gradients, giving insights on the differential metropolitan cycles between (and within) countries.

Male\u2013Female Fertility Differentials Across 17 High-Income Countries: Insights From A New Data Resource

Obtaining cross-country comparative perspectives on male fertility has long been difficult, as male fertility is usually less well registered than female fertility. Recent methodological advancements in imputing missing paternal ages at childbirth enable us to provide a new database on male fertility. This new resource covers more than 330 million live births and is based on a consistent and well-tested set of methods. These methods allow us to handle missing information on the paternal age, which is missing for roughly 10% of births. The data resource is made available in the Human Fertility Collection and allows for the first time a comparative perspective on male fertility in high-income countries using high-quality birth register data. We analyze trends in male–female fertility quantum and tempo differentials across 17 high-income countries, dating as back as far as the late 1960s for some countries, and with data available for the majority of countries from the 1980s onward. Using descriptive and counterfactual analysis methods, we find substantial variation both across countries and over time. Related to the quantum we demonstrate that disparities between male and female period fertility rates are driven to a large degree by the interplay of parental age and cohort size differences. For parental age differences at childbirth, we observe a development toward smaller disparities, except in Eastern Europe. This observation fits with expectations based on gender theories. However, variation across countries also seems to be driven by factors other than gender equality.

Socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea.

BACKGROUNDSouth Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, reaching a record low of 0.98 in 2018. Understanding socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea has become an important social and policy issue.OBJECTIVEThis study examines socioeconomic differentials in first and second childbirths among married women using various indicators of socioeconomic status at the individual and household level.METHODSUsing the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (1998–2017), discrete-time hazard models are used to evaluate the relationships between multiple indicators of socioeconomic status and the transition to first and second births.RESULTSHigher socioeconomic status (e.g., husband’s college education and standard employment, homeownership) is conducive to a transition to parenthood and second births. However, the wife’s employment – standard employment in particular – is negatively associated with both first and second childbirth. Among the indicators of socioeconomic resources, stable housing arrangements and the husband’s employment security appear to be the most important factors for a married couple’s fertility decisions.CONCLUSIONSSocioeconomically disadvantaged married couples tend to delay their transition to parenthood. In addition, those with high SES are more likely than their counterparts with low SES to have second births. If these patterns persist, they have important implications for the demographic process and social stratification.CONTRIBUTIONThe findings of this study contribute to a comprehensive understanding of socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea and therefore have important policy implications. These findings will also prove useful to other societies with very low fertility rates.

Religious Denominations in Vienna and Austria: Baseline Study for 2016 - Scenarios until 2046

The publication presents the results of the research project “Religious Denominations in Vienna & Austria: Baseline study for 2016 – Scenarios until 2046” conducted by the Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The aim of this study project was twofold: Firstly, to estimate the religious composition of the population of Austria and Vienna in 2016 taking into account the most recent migration movements; and secondly, to project the population of Austria and Vienna from 2016 to 2046 based on several scenarios related mostly to the three major forces affecting religious composition, migration (including asylum-seekers), differential fertility, and religious conversion. While the projections demonstrate some of the possible futures that Austria and its capital city could experience in the coming decades, and those are all quite dissimilar, they also show that religious diversity is bound to increase, and there are no reasons to think that any of the trends that have been in place already for several decades in the country will stop and that the country would move back to the situation of the early 1970s.

On differential fertility and the intergenerational dynamics of inequality

On differential fertility and the intergenerational dynamics of inequality

Left-Handedness and Economic Development

This paper studies the interplay between left-handedness and economic development. To explain the decline and subsequent recovery of left-handedness observed over the last few centuries in the Western world, we propose a theory in which economic development influences the prevalence of left-handedness through structural change and a genetic mechanism driven by differential fertility. We further explore the possibility that the prevalence of left-handedness influences growth, finding that the link between handedness and economic performance varies across stages of development. Consistent with the implications of our model, the analysis of US data suggests that left-handedness can positively contribute to growth, once the economy has reached a sufficiently high level of human capital. Our research provides an example of how economic development can shape evolutionary forces, thus improving our understanding of the growth-diversity link.

Determinants of fertility differentials in Burundi: evidence from the 2016-17 Burundi demographic and health survey.

Introductionalthough fertility control remains a major priority for the Burundian government and most of its partners, few studies on Burundi´s fertility determinants are available to guide interventions. To address this gap, our study aims to examine the most factors influencing fertility differentials in Burundi by using the latest Burundi demographic and health survey data.Methodsusing data from the 2016-17 Burundi demographic and health survey, one-way analysis of variance was performed to describe variations in mean number of children ever born across categories of correlate variables. Then univariable and multivariable poisson regression analyses were carried out to identify the most factors influencing fertility differentials in Burundi.Resultsin our sample, the total number of children ever born ranged from 0 to 15 children by women with a mean number of 2.7 children (±2.8 SD). Factors such as urban residence (aIRR 0.769, 95% CI: 0.739 - 0.782, p = 0.008), increase in the level of education of both women and husbands (aIRRs of 0.718, 95% CI: 0.643 - 0.802, P<0.001 and 0.729, 95% CI: 0.711 - 0.763, p<0.001 respectively), no history of infant mortality experience (aIRR 0.722, 95% IC: 0.710 - 0.734, p<0.001) and increase in age at first marriage or first birth (aIRRs of 0.864, 95% CI: 0.837 - 0.891, P<0.001 and 0.812, 95% CI: 0.781 - 0.845, p<0.001 respectively) are associated with a low fertility rate while factors such as residence especially in Southern region (aIRR 1.129, 95% IC: 1.077 - 1.184, p<0.001), women and husband´s agricultural profession (aIRRs of 1.521, 95% CI: 1.429 - 1.568, P<0.001 and 1.294, 95% CI: 1.211 - 1.316, p<0.001 respectively), household poverty (aIRR 1.117, 95% IC: 1.080 - 1.155, p<0.001), lack of knowledge of any contraceptive method (aIRR 1.502, 95% IC: 1.494 - 1.564, p<0.001) and non-use of modern contraceptive methods (aIRR 1.583, 95% IC: 1.562 - 1.607, p<0.001) are associated with a high fertility rate.Conclusionthe results of this study suggest that actions aimed at promoting education in general especially female education, improving child survival, women´s socio-economic status, agriculture mechanization and increasing number and scope of family planning services, could help reduce Burundi fertility rate.

Food Security, Fertility Differentials and Land Degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Framework

Food Security, Fertility Differentials and Land Degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Dynamic Framework

Towards a Catholic North America? Projections of Religion in Canada and the US Beyond the Mid-21st Century

Religion and religiosity are important identity markers, and changes in a country’s religious composition may affect its culture, value orientations and policies. In recent decades the Protestants in both the US and Canada have lost their absolute population majority. In the present study we investigate the future of the religious composition in both the US and Canada jointly until the 2060s taking into consideration changes due to demographic forces, the level and composition of migration, fertility differentials and intergenerational religious transmissions. The joint focus on both the US and Canada allows one to better understand the commonalities and differences between these two nations which are tightly knit in terms of geography, politics, economics and culture. The projections reveal that North America should not become Catholic by mid-century but close to, with an increasing importance of minorities in the religious landscape.

Fertility intentions and outcomes in Indonesia: Evolutionary perspectives on sexual conflict.

Differential fertility preferences for men and women may provide insights into human sexual conflict. We explore whether pairbonded couples have different preferences for future offspring, which socioecological factors are associated with these preferences, and who achieves their desired fertility over time. We utilise the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS), a longitudinal survey which collected data from 1993 to 2015, to compare desired future fertility for 9655 couples and follow couples who had divergent preferences. The majority of couples (64.8%) want the same number of future offspring. In 20.7% of couples, husbands want more future offspring than their wives, while the reverse occurs in 14.5% of couples. Living in villages with the husband's or the wife's parent(s) is associated with having divergent preferences for future offspring, where there is a higher likelihood that women prefer more offspring than their husbands. When examining fertility outcomes, women, particularly those who marry at older ages, are more likely to achieve their desired preference. Contrary to previous research, we do not find that living near one's natal kin or having increased autonomy increases an individual's likelihood of achieving desired fertility outcomes.

Women educational differential fertility and development in Benue State: The case of Makurdi and Ihugh women

This study explored women education to fertility in the Ihugh (rural) and Makurdi (urban) settings in Benue State. The purpose of the study was to test whether women with substantial schooling do have lower fertility than those without schooling. The study revealed that there is fertility differential in rural and urban settings, and that schooling is an index of the differentials. The study presents its findings and puts forward some recommendations that can help the government to address the issue of women education, especially the girl-child education.

High and Higher: Fertility of Black and White Women with College and Postgraduate Education in the United States

A postponement of first births among college graduates, and increases in childlessness in the US are well documented, as are black-white fertility differentials. However, little is known on how first birth postponement and childlessness differ between women with college and postgraduate education. Likewise, black-white fertility differentials among women with college and post-graduate education, in particular among recent birth cohorts, have not yet been addressed in the literature. We use the CPS Fertility Supplement 1979-2012 to estimate first birth survival functions for black and white women with college and post-graduate education for birth cohorts 1931-1980. Our findings show a significant postponement of the first birth by about 2 years among women with postgraduate education compared to college graduates. Median ages at first birth plateau around age 32-33 for this group. Differentials in childlessness between college graduates and women with postgraduate education are present in the 1940s and 1950s birth cohorts, but disappear for women born after 1960. Furthermore, black highly educated women have significantly more first births early in the life course and higher rates of non-marital fertility than their white counterparts across all birth cohorts. Our findings thus suggest diverging pathways into motherhood between black and white women, even among this most highly educated segment of the population.

SES differences in marital fertility widened during the fertility transition\u2014evidence from global micro-level population data

The decline in human fertility during the demographic transition is one of the most profound changes to human living conditions. To gain a better understanding of this transition we investigate the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and marital fertility in different fertility regimes in a global and historical perspective. We use data for a large number women in 91 different countries for the period 1703–2018 (N = 116,612,473). In the pre-transitional fertility regime the highest SES group had somewhat lower marital fertility than other groups both in terms of children ever born (CEB) and number of surviving children under 5 (CWR). Over the course of the fertility transition, as measured by the different fertility regimes, these rather small initial SES differentials in marital fertility widened, both for CEB and CWR. There was no indication of a convergence in marital fertility by SES in the later stages of the transition. Our results imply a universally negative association between SES and marital fertility and that the fertility differentials widened during the fertility transition.