IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v19y2008i39.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

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

Author

Listed:
  • 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
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol19/39/19-39.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.39?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sevilla-Sanz, Almudena & De Laat, Joost, 2006. "Working women, men’s home time and lowest-low fertility," ISER Working Paper Series 2006-23, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    2. Eva Bernhardt & Frances Goldscheider, 2006. "Gender Equality, Parenthood Attitudes, and First Births in Sweden," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 4(1), pages 19-39.
    3. Debra Friedman & Michael Hechter & Satoshi Kanazawa, 1994. "A theory of the value of children," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 31(3), pages 375-401, August.
    4. Michaela Kreyenfeld, 2003. "Crisis or Adaptation – Reconsidered: A Comparison of East and West German Fertility Patterns in the First Six Years after the ‘Wende'," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 19(3), pages 303-329, September.
    5. Berna Miller Torr & Susan E. Short, 2004. "Second Births and the Second Shift: A Research Note on Gender Equity and Fertility," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 30(1), pages 109-130, March.
    6. Aart C. Liefbroer, 2005. "The Impact of Perceived Costs and Rewards of Childbearing on Entry into Parenthood: Evidence from a Panel Study," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 21(4), pages 367-391, December.
    7. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1, June.
    8. Guy Moors, 2008. "The Valued Child. In Search of a Latent Attitude Profile that Influences the Transition to Motherhood," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 24(1), pages 33-57, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    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. 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.
    4. 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).
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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).
    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).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. Francesca Modena & Concetta Rondinelli & Fabio Sabatini, 2014. "Economic Insecurity and Fertility Intentions: The Case of Italy," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(S1), pages 233-255, May.
    3. Francesco C. Billari & Dimiter Philipov & Maria Rita Testa, 2009. "Attitudes, Norms and Perceived Behavioural Control: Explaining Fertility Intentions in Bulgaria [Attitudes, normes et contrôle perçu du comportement: Une explication des intentions de fécondité en ," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 439-465, November.
    4. Laura Bernardi & Andreas Klärner & Holger Lippe, 2008. "Job Insecurity and the Timing of Parenthood: A Comparison between Eastern and Western Germany," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 24(3), pages 287-313, September.
    5. 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.
    6. Stanca, Luca, 2012. "Suffer the little children: Measuring the effects of parenthood on well-being worldwide," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 742-750.
    7. Sunnee Billingsley, 2010. "The Post-Communist Fertility Puzzle," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 29(2), pages 193-231, April.
    8. Francesca Modena & Fabio Sabatini, 2012. "I would if I could: precarious employment and childbearing intentions in Italy," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 77-97, March.
    9. Liepmann, Hannah, 2018. "The impact of a negative labor demand shock on fertility – Evidence from the fall of the Berlin Wall," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 210-224.
    10. Hande Inanc, 2015. "Unemployment and the timing of parenthood," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(7), pages 219-250.
    11. Ariane Pailhé & Anne Solaz, 2012. "The influence of employment uncertainty on childbearing in France: A tempo or quantum effect?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 26(1), pages 1-40.
    12. Johannes Huinink & Martin Kohli, 2014. "A life-course approach to fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(45), pages 1293-1326.
    13. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, 2014. "New Partners, More Kids," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 654(1), pages 66-86, July.
    14. Gerda Neyer & Trude Lappegård & Daniele Vignoli, 2013. "Gender Equality and Fertility: Which Equality Matters?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 29(3), pages 245-272, August.
    15. Kazuo Yamaguchi, 1998. "Rational-Choice Theories Of Anticipatory Socialization And Anticipatory Non-Socialization," Rationality and Society, , vol. 10(2), pages 163-199, May.
    16. James Feyrer & Bruce Sacerdote & Ariel Dora Stern, 2008. "Will the Stork Return to Europe and Japan? Understanding Fertility within Developed Nations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 3-22, Summer.
    17. Hans-Peter Kohler & Iliana Kohler, 2002. "Fertility Decline in Russia in the Early and Mid 1990s: The Role of Economic Uncertainty and Labour Market Crises," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 18(3), pages 233-262, September.
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. Layla Van den Berg & Jonas Wood & Karel Neels, 2021. "Socioeconomic preconditions to union formation: Exploring variation by migrant background," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(32), pages 973-1010.

    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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:19:y:2008:i:39. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Editorial Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.