Social class and fertility: A long-run analysis of Southern Sweden, 1922–2015. (2nd September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dribe, Martin; Smith, Christopher D.
• Is Part Of: Population studies. Volume 75:Number 3(2021)
• Page Start: 305
• Page End: 323
• Publication Date: 2021-09-02
• Subjects: social class -- SES -- income -- fertility -- marital fertility -- parity-specific fertility -- Sweden -- event history analysis -- population registers; Demography -- Periodicals; Population -- Periodicals; 304.605
• DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2020.1810746
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0032-4728

Abstract

Abstract : This paper examines social class differences in fertility, using longitudinal micro-level data for a regional sample in Sweden, 1922–2015. Using discrete-time event history models, we estimated the association between social class and parity-specific duration to next birth, adjusting for household income in separate models. Social class was associated with fertility quite independently from income and the association was both parity-dependent and sex-specific. For transitions to parenthood, higher class position was associated with higher fertility for men and lower fertility for women before 1970, but then converged into a positive association for both sexes after 1990. For continued childbearing, a weak U-shaped relationship before 1947 turned into a positive relationship for second births and a negative relationship for higher-order births in the period after 1990. These patterns likely reflect broader changes in work–family compatibility and are connected to profound shifts in labour markets and institutional arrangements in twentieth-century Sweden.