A Cross-National Perspective on Unemployment and First Births

作者：Schmitt Christian^*

来源：European Journal of Population, 2012, 28(3): 303-335.

DOI：10.1007/s10680-012-9262-5

• Fertility
• First birth
• Cross
• national comparison
• Unemployment
• Welfare states

This article investigates the impact of unemployment on the likelihood of having a first child. Using micro-data from the European Community Household Panel, I apply event history methods to analyze first-birth decisions in France, West Germany, and the UK (1994-2001). The results highlight weak negative effects of unemployment on family formation among men, which can be attributed to the inability to financially support a family. Among women, unemployment exerts a positive effect on the propensity to have a first child in Germany and the UK, where institutional settings aggravate work-family conflicts. Unemployment increases the likelihood of family formation among women with a moderate or low level of education. This does not, however, generally apply to French women or to highly educated women in Germany and the UK, who, when unemployed, favor a quick return to work over motherhood.

• 出版日期2012-8