Changing familes and the gender revolution (FAMGEN)

• Hart, Rannveig Kaldager & Galloway, Taryn Ann (2023). Universal Transfers, Tax Breaks and Fertility: Evidence from a Regional Reform in Norway. Population: Research and Policy Review. 42(3). doi: 10.1007/s11113-023-09793-z. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The relatively high fertility in the Nordic countries has attracted considerable academic and political interest. Still, the causal relationship between economic circumstances and fertility in the Nordic context is poorly understood. This paper estimates the effect of tax breaks and universal transfers on fertility in the Nordic context. We analyze the fertility effects of a regional child benefit and tax reform implemented in the northern municipalities of the Norwegian county Troms, using the southern municipalities of the same county as a plausible and empirically similar control group. We use a difference-in-difference/event study design, and estimate multivariate models on individual-level data from administrative registers for the full population. The reform increased fertility among women in their early 20 s. The effects are concentrated among unmarried women, who received the largest subsidies. Our findings suggest that favorable economic conditions have contributed to the relatively high fertility in the Nordic countries.

• Bergsvik, Janna; Cools, Sara & Hart, Rannveig Kaldager (2023). Explaining Residential Clustering of Large Families. European Journal of Population. 39. doi: 10.1007/s10680-023-09655-6. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Numerous studies have shown that fertility behavior is spatially clustered. In addition to pure contextual effects, two causal mechanisms could drive this pattern. First, neighbors may influence each other's fertility and second, family size may influence decisions about where to live. In this study we examine these two potential causal mechanisms empirically, using the sex composition of the two eldest children and twin births as instrumental variables (IVs) for having a third child. We estimate how having a third child affects three separate outcomes: the fertility of neighbors; the propensity to move houses; and the likelihood of living in a family-friendly neighborhood with many children. We draw residential and childbearing histories (2000–2018) from Norwegian administrative registers (N ~ 167,000 women). Individuals' neighborhoods are defined using time-varying geocoordinates for place of residence. We identify selective moves as one plausible causal driver of residential clustering of large families. This study contributes to the understanding of fertility and relocation, and to the literature on the social interaction effects of fertility, by testing the relevance of yet another network: that of neighbors.

• Bergsvik, Janna; Fauske, Agnes & Hart, Rannveig Kaldager (2021). Can Policies Stall the Fertility Fall? A Systematic Review of the (Quasi‐) Experimental Literature. Population and Development Review. 47(4), p. 913–964. doi: 10.1111/padr.12431. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In the course of the twentieth century, social scientists and policy analysts have produced a large volume of literature on whether policies boost fertility. This paper describes the results of a systematic review of the literature on the effects of policy on fertility since 1970 in Europe, the United States,Canada, and Australia. Empirical studies were selected through extensive systematic searches, including studies using an experimental or quasi‐experimental design. Thirty‐five studies were included, covering reforms of parental leave, childcare, health services, and universal child transfers. In line with previous reviews, we find that childcare expansions increase completed fertility, while increased cash transfers have temporary effects. New evidence on parental leave expansions, particularly from Central Europe, suggests larger effects than previously established. High‐earning couples benefit more from parental leave expansions, while expanding childcare programs can reduce social inequalities on other domains. Subsidizing assisted reproductive treatments shows some promise of increasing birth rates for women over the age of 35. Countries that to date have limited support for families can build on solid evidence if they choose to expand these programs.

• Comolli, Chiara Ludovica; Neyer, Gerda; Andersson, Gunnar; Dommermuth, Lars; Fallesen, Peter & Jalovaara, Marika [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2020). Beyond the Economic Gaze: Childbearing During and After Recessions in the Nordic Countries. European Journal of Population. doi: 10.1007/s10680-020-09570-0. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  During the 2010s, fertility rates fell across the Nordic region. The onset of these declines seems linked to the Great Recession of 2008–2009, but their continuation cannot easily be linked to subsequent economic change. The 1990s, too, brought episodes of economic crises to the Nordic region that were followed by different degrees of fertility decline. In this study, we provide an empirical overview of parity-, age- and education-specific fertility developments in the five Nordic countries in the wake of the economic recessions in 2008 and the early 1990s, respectively. We demonstrate a high degree of heterogeneity in fertility developments across countries after 1990, whereas after 2008, the trends are much more similar across the five countries. Likewise, the educational differences in birth hazards that characterized the developments after 1990 were much smaller in the initial years after 2008–2009. This reversal from heterogeneity to homogeneity in the fertility response to recessions calls for an expansion of theories on the cyclicality of fertility in relation to uncertainty and economic and social change. In our discussion, we consider the role of a set of factors that also incorporates the state, crisis management, and perceptions of economic and welfare uncertainty.

• Bergsvik, Janna (2020). Linking Neighbors’ Fertility: Third Births in Norwegian Neighborhoods. Comparative population studies. 45(October), p. 359–394. doi: 10.12765/CPoS-2020-21.
• Nisén, Jessica; Klüsener, Sebastian; Dahlberg, Johan; Dommermuth, Lars; Jasilioniene, Aiva & Kreyenfeld, Michaela [Show all 17 contributors for this article] (2020). Educational differences in cohort fertility across sub-national regions in Europe. European Journal of Population. p. 1–33. doi: 10.1007/s10680-020-09562-0. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Educational differences in female cohort fertility vary strongly across high-income countries and over time, but knowledge about how educational fertility differentials play out at the sub-national regional level is limited. Examining these sub-national regional patterns might improve our understanding of national patterns, as regionally varying contextual conditions may affect fertility. This study provides for the first time for a large number of European countries a comprehensive account of educational differences in the cohort fertility rate (CFR) at the sub-national regional level. We harmonise data from population registers, censuses, and large-sample surveys for 15 countries to measure women’s completed fertility by educational level and region of residence at the end of the reproductive lifespan. In order to explore associations between educational differences in CFRs and levels of economic development, we link our data to regional GDP per capita. Empirical Bayesian estimation is used to reduce uncertainty in the regional fertility estimates. We document an overall negative gradient between the CFR and level of education, and notable regional variation in the gradient. The steepness of the gradient is inversely related to the economic development level. It is steepest in the least developed regions and close to zero in the most developed regions. This tendency is observed within countries as well as across all regions of all countries. Our findings underline the variability of educational gradients in women’s fertility, suggest that higher levels of development may be associated with less negative gradients, and call for more in-depth sub-national-level fertility analyses by education.

• Bergsvik, Janna; Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Wiik, Kenneth Aarskaug (2020). Parenthood and Couples' Relative Earnings in Norway. European Sociological Review. 36(2), p. 218–235. doi: 10.1093/esr/jcz062. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  With the advance of the gender revolution, income dynamics in couples are changing. Nonetheless, in most Western societies, parenthood still promotes specialized gender roles. Utilizing Norwegian register data on all married and cohabiting couples born 1946–1989, we investigate possible changes in the associations between parenthood and within-couple inequality in earnings in the years 2005–2014. Precisely, using interactions and fixed effects models, we compare the development of within-couple gender gaps in earnings over time between childless couples and couples with children of different ages, and within couples before and after childbirth. Results showed that the gender gap in earnings in couples increased with the number of children and was most distinct among couples with children below 6 years. However, the association between parenthood and withincouple inequality in earnings was reduced across the study period, a development partly driven by a decreasing fatherhood premium evident from 2009 onwards. Not only women’s but also men’s income development is now negatively affected by having young children in the household. Our findings, thus, indicate important changes in how men and women prioritize paid labour after a childbirth.

• Ellingsæter, Anne Lise; Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Østbakken, Kjersti Misje (2019). Immigrants and the ‘caring father’: Inequality in access to and utilisation of parental leave in Norway . Ethnicities. 20(5), p. 959–982. doi: 10.1177/1468796819890109. Full text in Research Archive
• Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Halrynjo, Sigtona (2019). Mer likestilling med fedrekvote? Naturlige eksperimenter i norsk kontekst. Tidsskrift for kjønnsforskning. 43(2), p. 71–89. doi: 10.18261/issn.1891-1781-2019-02-02. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  En viktig målsetting med fedrekvoten i foreldrepengeordningen har vært å fremme en jevnere fordeling av familie- og yrkesarbeidet blant foreldre. Både i den offentlige debatten og blant forskere har det vært en klar forventning om at fedrekvoten skal bidra til større likestilling hjemme og ute. Studier av fedrekvotereformer i Norge viser imidlertid ikke klare effekter for de første som er omfattet av reformene. Dette gjelder både innføringen av kvoten i 1993 og utvidelsen fra seks til ti uker i 2009. Vi diskuterer hvordan disse resultatene kan forstås. Vi argumenterer for at fleksibiliteten i foreldrepengeordningen kan bidra til å forklare hvorfor studiene avdekker få likestillingseffekter. Far kan fortsatt ta permisjon på måter som ikke fremmer en jevnere arbeidsdeling. Videre kan det ha betydning at far ikke har selvstendige fedrekvoterettigheter ettersom par der mor har lav/ingen inntekt ikke er omfattet av reformene. Endelig kan samspillet med andre deler av familiepolitikken og med kjønnsforskjeller i arbeidsmarkedet ha betydning.

• Wiik, Kenneth Aarskaug & Bernhardt, Eva (2019). Gendered expectations: expected consequences of union formation across Europe. Journal of Family Studies. 25(2), p. 214–231. doi: 10.1080/13229400.2016.1237883.
• Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Halrynjo, Sigtona (2017). Mindre spesialisering med fedrekvote? Foreldrepermisjonens potensial for å endre arbeidsdelingen blant foreldre. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. 58(3), p. 311–333. doi: 10.18261/ISSN.1504-291X-2017-03-03. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Økt likestilling mellom mødre og fedre i familie- og yrkesliv, altså mindre grad av kjønnsspesialisering, var et uttalt mål for innføring av fedrekvoten. Forskning gir imidlertid ulike svar på hvorvidt fedrekvoten har bidratt til mer likestilling. Kvalitative studier og studier som ser på statistiske korrelasjoner, viser en klar sammenheng mellom fars permisjonsbruk og mors og fars tilpasning til arbeid og familie på sikt. Kvasi-eksperimentelle studier, som legger stor vekt på å utelukke seleksjon, finner derimot små og til dels motstridende kausale effekter av innføring av fedrekvoten på foreldres familie- og yrkesarbeid. I denne artikkelen diskuterer vi hvordan sprikende funn kan forstås. Selv om kvasi-eksperimentelle studier finner få effekter av fedrekvotereformen, kan vi ikke utelukke at økt despesialisering i barnets første leveår gir mer likestilling på sikt, ettersom disse studiene sjelden undersøker om tidlig despesialisering faktisk har skjedd. Tidlig despesialisering forutsetter ikke bare at far har rett til kvote, men også at kvoten brukes i tråd med hensikten. For å vurdere hvorvidt en fedrekvote kan bidra til mer likestilte foreldreskap, trenger vi mer kunnskap om hvordan permisjonen faktisk benyttes og hvor omfattende despesialisering som må til i barnets første leveår for å gi varige endringer i foreldres tilpasning til omsorg og yrkesarbeid.

• Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Rønsen, Marit (2017). Does Involved Fathering Produce a Larger Total Workload for Fathers Than for Mothers? Evidence from Norway. Family Relations. 66(July), p. 468–483. doi: 10.1111/fare.12264. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Objective: To compare mothers’ and fathers’total workloads within couples with different work-time arrangements in a social democratic welfare state (Norway) and explore possible changes in the 1990s and 2000s. Background: Women’s double workload in families with two full-time jobs has been well documented. However, some argue that fathers,too, may experience the double burden of market and domestic work as they become more involved in parenting. Method: The data are from the Norwegian Time Use Surveys conducted in 1990, 2000,and 2010 among representative samples of the adult population. A subsample of coupled other-sex-parents with at least one child younger than age 20 years were used in the present study. Total workload is the sum of paid and unpaid work activities reported in a time diary. Standard multivariate ordinary least square regressions were used to explore gender differences. Results: Full-time work for both parents entailed approximately equal total workloads for fathers and mothers. However, fathers’ total workload exceeded mothers’ in full-time and part-time couples with school-aged children. Conclusion: Despite equal total workloads and reduced specialization, mothers still do less paid work and more family work than fathers in couples where both work full-time in Norway. This is partly related to the gender-segregated labor market. In full-time and part-time couples With school-aged children, fathers’ longer working hours are not fully offset by more family work for mothers. Implications: Work–family reconciliation policies promoting mothers’ employment and fathers’ family work may have the potential to reduce gender imbalances in parent’s total workloads and moderate gendered specialization patterns.

• Bergsvik, Janna; Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Wiik, Kenneth Aarskaug (2016). Forsørgermønstre blant par – likestilling eller spesialisering? Søkelys på arbeidslivet. 33(4), p. 379–402. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-7989-2016-04-06. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Analyser av registerdata om pensjonsgivende inntekt viser at omtrent 48 prosent av gifte eller samboende par hadde en likestilt forsørgerpraksis i 2013, ved at partene hadde omtrent like store inntekter. Mannen hadde klart høyest inntekt i 46 prosent av parene, mens kvinnen hadde høyest inntekt i 6 prosent av parene. En likestilt forsørgerpraksis er vanligst når kvinnen har lang utdanning og det ikke er små barn eller mange barn i husholdningen, når kvinnens utdanning er rettet mot et mannsdominert yrke, når mannens utdanning er rettet mot et kvinnedominert yrke i offentlig sektor, og når kvinnen har lengre utdanning enn mannen.

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• Dommermuth, Lars & Lappegård, Trude (2021). The Generations and Gender Survey 2020 in Norway. Show summary

  This is the third webinar of the GGP-Connect series. The webinar was held on the 25th of May at 13h00 (Amsterdam time). Lars Dommermuth (Statistics Norway) and Trude Lappegard (University of Oslo) talked about the GGS data collection in Norway. A unique aspect of the data collection is that it was completed using web-only. Moreover, the survey includes specific module on uncertainty in order to study the declining fertility visible in Nordic countries. The speakers provided some insights on the survey methodology and the lessons learnt.​

• Bergsvik, Janna; Cools, Sara & Hart, Rannveig Kaldager (2020). Explaining residential clustering of fertility. SSB - Discussion papers.
• Bergsvik, Janna (2019). Linking neighbors’ fertility: Third births in Norwegian neighborhoods. Discussion papers. Show summary

  The aim of this paper is to gain more insight on the drivers behind geographical variations in family sizes by pointing out the role of neighborhoods and neighbors for two-child couples’ transitions to third births. Couples’ decisions about fertility behavior are influenced by their social context where immediate neighborhoods and neighbors may play a significant role. Furthermore, as neighborhoods are important contexts of childrearing, couples may sort geographically based on their fertility preferences. Using detailed geo-data from Norwegian administrative registers to locate couples in flexible ego-centered neighborhoods, this paper introduces a new dimension of spatial fertility variations. Results from regression models show that the family size of neighbors is positively related to each other. That is, the likelihood that two-child couples have a third child increases with the share of families with three or more children in the neighborhood. This relationship remains significant also after controlling for a range of couple characteristics, housing, neighboring women’s educational level and time-constant characteristics of neighborhoods. It is also consistent for various neighborhood definitions which in this study range from the 12 to the 500 nearest neighbors. However, the strength of the association between neighbors’ fertility increases with the number of neighbors, providing evidence that residential sorting is a dominant driver.

• Dommermuth, Lars (2019). Fertility in Norway.
• Comolli, Chiara Ludovica; Neyer, Gerda; Andersson, Gunnar; Dommermuth, Lars; Fallesen, Peter & Jalovaara, Marika [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2019). Beyond the Economic Gaze. Childbearing during and after recessions in the Nordic countries. Stockholm Research Reports in Demography. 2019(16). doi: 10.17045/sthlmuni.8089028.v1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract: This study investigates fertility responses to the business cycle in the Nordic countries by comparing period variation in women’s childbearing propensity. We harmonize register data from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to compare childbearing in the aftermath of the two most recent crises that hit those economies: the 1990s and 2010s. We use event-history techniques to present parity-specific fertility, by calendar year, relative to a defined pre-recession year. We further examine any possible impact of the two recessions by women’s age and education. Results show a large heterogeneity across the five Nordic countries in the childbearing developments after 1990. This variation largely disappears after 2008 when period trends in birth hazards become more similar across countries. Likewise, the educational differences that characterized the variation in childbearing relative risk after 1990 considerably diminish in the years after 2010, especially for first and second births. Economic theories do not suffice to explain this reversal from the heterogeneity of the 1990s to the homogeneity of the 2010s in the childbearing response to recession episodes across countries and socioeconomic groups. Our findings suggest the need to expand the theoretical framework explaining the cyclicality of fertility towards the perception of economic and welfare uncertainty.

• Bergsvik, Janna; Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Wiik, Kenneth Aarskaug (2018). Parenthood and couples' relative earnings in Norway 2005-2014. Discussion papers. Show summary

  In the current paper, we investigate within-couple inequality in earnings using Norwegian register data on married and cohabiting couples. We are particularly interested in assessing whether the negative relation between children and women’s relative earnings changed during the study period 2005 to 2014. In this period, work-family policy measures meant to facilitate mothers’ employment and promoting fathers’ family involvement were strengthened, and there was a sharp increase in women’s level of education. Controlling for demographic and socioeconomic variables, results showed that women on average still earn less than their male partners and that the presence of small children in the household was negatively related to women’s earnings. However, results from interaction models showed that the negative association between having young children and women’s relative earnings was reduced during the study period. Additional analyses confirmed that this latter finding was mainly due to an income reduction among new fathers.

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