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Socioeconomic differences in the fertility transition: a micro level study of southern Sweden

Bengtsson, Tommy LU and Dribe, Martin LU (2009) XXV International Population Conference
Abstract
The almost complete focus on the aggregate level in previous research on demographic,

socioeconomic and cultural determinants of the fertility transition means that we to a

large extent not only lack knowledge about the specific mechanisms of the decline, but

also its socioeconomic patterns. In this paper we explore socioeconomic fertility

differentials in an industrializing community of southern Sweden using longitudinal

micro data. We analyze fertility differentials between various socioeconomic groups

over time, both in the agrarian sector and in the growing industrial sector. Data comes

from the Scanian Demographic Database, which contains micro-level demographic... (More)
The almost complete focus on the aggregate level in previous research on demographic,

socioeconomic and cultural determinants of the fertility transition means that we to a

large extent not only lack knowledge about the specific mechanisms of the decline, but

also its socioeconomic patterns. In this paper we explore socioeconomic fertility

differentials in an industrializing community of southern Sweden using longitudinal

micro data. We analyze fertility differentials between various socioeconomic groups

over time, both in the agrarian sector and in the growing industrial sector. Data comes

from the Scanian Demographic Database, which contains micro-level demographic as

well as socioeconomic data, including occupations and landholdings. In the analysis we

use hazard regressions with shared unobserved heterogeneity at the family level. We

show that the fertility transition involved not only parity-specific stopping but also

prolonged birth intervals. While the well-off groups had higher fertility prior to the

transition, they started to control their fertility earlier and more consistently. As a result

the socioeconomic fertility differences first reversed and even widened before they later

converged. We also demonstrate the emergence of new fertility behavior in response to

child death, in which a deliberate replacement effect becomes dominating. Also in this

regard there were pronounced socioeconomic differentials in the transition. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
unpublished
subject
conference name
XXV International Population Conference
conference location
Marrakech, Morocco
conference dates
2009-09-27 - 2009-10-02
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
41202b9c-a997-4b30-8723-92f0fb8c43f3 (old id 1524503)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 13:48:05
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:16:22
@misc{41202b9c-a997-4b30-8723-92f0fb8c43f3,
  abstract     = {{The almost complete focus on the aggregate level in previous research on demographic,<br/><br>
socioeconomic and cultural determinants of the fertility transition means that we to a<br/><br>
large extent not only lack knowledge about the specific mechanisms of the decline, but<br/><br>
also its socioeconomic patterns. In this paper we explore socioeconomic fertility<br/><br>
differentials in an industrializing community of southern Sweden using longitudinal<br/><br>
micro data. We analyze fertility differentials between various socioeconomic groups<br/><br>
over time, both in the agrarian sector and in the growing industrial sector. Data comes<br/><br>
from the Scanian Demographic Database, which contains micro-level demographic as<br/><br>
well as socioeconomic data, including occupations and landholdings. In the analysis we<br/><br>
use hazard regressions with shared unobserved heterogeneity at the family level. We<br/><br>
show that the fertility transition involved not only parity-specific stopping but also<br/><br>
prolonged birth intervals. While the well-off groups had higher fertility prior to the<br/><br>
transition, they started to control their fertility earlier and more consistently. As a result<br/><br>
the socioeconomic fertility differences first reversed and even widened before they later<br/><br>
converged. We also demonstrate the emergence of new fertility behavior in response to<br/><br>
child death, in which a deliberate replacement effect becomes dominating. Also in this<br/><br>
regard there were pronounced socioeconomic differentials in the transition.}},
  author       = {{Bengtsson, Tommy and Dribe, Martin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{Socioeconomic differences in the fertility transition: a micro level study of southern Sweden}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/6208187/1524933}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}