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Overview Chapter 8: The impact of public policies on European fertility

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  • Jan M. Hoem

    (Stockholms Universitet)

Abstract

This chapter outlines the positions in the current debate about the possibility of using public policies to influence fertility. We note the polarization between, on the one hand, those who view public policies as obvious means for lifting the currently low fertility levels in Europe, in line with the role of economic policies in a modern society; and, on the other hand, those who feel that family policies are inefficient, and perhaps even unnecessary. We place the contributions of the national chapters of this book in this framework and describe the formidable methodological difficulties that face those who seek to investigate policy impacts on fertility behavior. While properly conducted empirical investigations have overcome such problems and have clearly demonstrated policy effects in specific circumstances, we conclude that, in general, national fertility is possibly best seen as a systemic outcome that depends more on broader attributes, such as the degree of family-friendliness of a society, and less on the presence and detailed construction of monetary benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan M. Hoem, 2008. "Overview Chapter 8: The impact of public policies on European fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(10), pages 249-260.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:19:y:2008:i:10
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.10
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    Cited by:

    1. Jac Thomas & Francisco Rowe & Paul Williamson & Eric S. Lin, 2022. "The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Allan Puur & Livia Sz. Oláh & Mariam Irene Tazi-Preve & Jürgen Dorbritz, 2008. "Men's childbearing desires and views of the male role in Europe at the dawn of the 21st century," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(56), pages 1883-1912.
    3. Bloom, David E. & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2010. "Economic consequences of low fertility in Europe," FZID Discussion Papers 11-2010, University of Hohenheim, Center for Research on Innovation and Services (FZID).
    4. Kristen Harknett & Francesco Billari & Carla Medalia, 2014. "Do Family Support Environments Influence Fertility? Evidence from 20 European Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 1-33, February.
    5. Filip Chybalski & Edyta Marcinkiewicz, 2024. "Grandparents “on board”: How they translate into the households’ fertility decisions," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 51(2), pages 233-250, June.
    6. Sunnee Billingsley & Gerda Neyer & Katharina Wesolowski, 2022. "Social Investment Policies and Childbearing Across 20 Countries: Longitudinal and Micro-Level Analyses," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 951-974, December.
    7. Anna Bokun, 2024. "Cash transfers and fertility: Evidence from Poland’s Family 500+ Policy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 51(28), pages 855-910.
    8. Vicente Díaz Gandasegui & Begoña Elizalde-San Miguel & Maria T. Sanz, 2021. "Back to the Future: a Sensitivity Analysis to Predict Future Fertility Rates Considering the Influence of Family Policies—The Cases of Spain and Norway," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 943-968, April.
    9. Ariane Pailhé & Clémentine Rossier & Laurent Toulemon, 2008. "French family policy: long tradition and diversified measures," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 6(1), pages 149-164.
    10. Thyrian, Jochen René & Fendrich, Konstanze & Lange, Anja & Haas, Johannes-Peter & Zygmunt, Marek & Hoffmann, Wolfgang, 2010. "Changing maternity leave policy: Short-term effects on fertility rates and demographic variables in Germany," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 672-676, August.
    11. Nicoletta Balbo & Francesco C. Billari & Melinda Mills, 2013. "Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 1-38, February.
    12. David E. Bloom & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2010. "Introduction to Special Issue of the European Journal of Population: ‘Economic Consequences of Low Fertility in Europe’ [Introduction au numéro spécial de la Revue Européenne de Démographie: ‹ Cons," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 26(2), pages 127-139, May.
    13. Bernt Bratsberg & Oddbjørn Raaum & Knut Røed, 2010. "When Minority Labor Migrants Meet the Welfare State," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(3), pages 633-676, July.
    14. Pau Baizan & Bruno Arpino & Carlos Eric Delclòs, 2016. "The Effect of Gender Policies on Fertility: The Moderating Role of Education and Normative Context," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(1), pages 1-30, February.
    15. Raffaele Guetto & Giammarco Alderotti & Daniele Vignoli, 2023. "Can Policy Reforms Enhance Fertility? An Ex-Ante Evaluation through Factorial Survey Experiments," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2023_08, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    16. Janna Bergsvik & Agnes Fauske & Rannveig Kaldager Hart, 2021. "Can Policies Stall the Fertility Fall? A Systematic Review of the (Quasi‐) Experimental Literature," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(4), pages 913-964, December.
    17. Arianna Caporali & Sebastian Kluesener & Gerda Neyer & Sandra Krapf & Olga Grigorieva & Dora Kostova, 2016. "The Contextual Database of the Generations and Gender Programme: Concept, content, and research examples," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(9), pages 229-252.
    18. Ari Klængur Jónsson, 2018. "Family policies, childbearing, and economic crisis: The case of Iceland," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(19), pages 561-592.
    19. Anna Šťastná & Jiřina Kocourková & Branislav Šprocha, 2020. "Parental Leave Policies and Second Births: A Comparison of Czechia and Slovakia," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(3), pages 415-437, June.
    20. Victor Leocádio & Ana Paula Verona & Simone Wajnman, 2025. "A review of research of the relationship between gender equity and fertility in low-fertility settings," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 1-26, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; childbearing; Europe; public policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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