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Gender roles and values of children: Childless Couples in East and West Germany

Author

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  • Ursula Henz

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Abstract

Presuming that not just economic circumstances but also ideational factors influence fertility decisions, the paper examines the values of children of East and West-German childless men and women living with a partner. Based on the survey about ‘Change and Development of Family Life Forms’, a confirmatory factor analysis identifies an affective, a utility and a cost dimension of the values of children, and for West-German women an additional dimension of opportunity costs. Although East and West-German men and women differed in their values of children, hypotheses about the higher affective value of children for East Germans compared to West Germans or for women compared to men are not supported for the specific sample. The values of children varied with respondent’s labour-market position and the division of household work. An analysis of panel data for West Germany shows that for women, first-birth rates depended on the value of children and on the gender roles in the home.

Suggested Citation

  • Ursula Henz, 2008. "Gender roles and values of children: Childless Couples in East and West Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 19(39), pages 1451-1500.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:19:y:2008:i:39
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.39
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Anne Salles & Clémentine Rossier & Sara Brachet, 2010. "Understanding the long term effects of family policies on fertility: The diffusion of different family models in France and Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(34), pages 1057-1096.
    2. Haya Stier & Amit Kaplan, 2020. "Are Children a Joy or a Burden? Individual- and Macro-level Characteristics and the Perception of Children," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(2), pages 387-413, April.
    3. Pia S. Schober, 2011. "Maternal Labor Market Return, Parental Leave Policies, and Gender Inequality in Housework," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 422, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    4. Fred Pampel, 2011. "Cohort change, diffusion, and support for gender egalitarianism in cross-national perspective," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(21), pages 667-694.
    5. Anja Oppermann, 2012. "A New Color in the Picture: The Impact of Educational Fields on Fertility in Western Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 496, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    6. Schober, Pia S., 2013. "Gender Equality and Outsourcing of Domestic Work, Childbearing, and Relationship Stability Among British Couples," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 25-52.
    7. Anja Oppermann, 2017. "Educational field and fertility in western Germany: an analysis of women born between 1955 and 1959," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 15(1), pages 239-267.
    8. Daniela Bellani & Bruno Arpino & Daniele Vignoli, 2021. "Time preferences and fertility: Evidence from Italy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(50), pages 1185-1228.
    9. 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.
    10. Pia S. Schober, 2012. "Parental Leave Policies and Child Care Time in Couples after Childbirth," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 434, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Germany; value of children; first birth; gender roles;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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