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Satisfaction with life as an antecedent of fertility

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  • Nick Parr

    (Macquarie University)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationships between satisfaction with life in general, particular domains of life, the partner, and parental relationships with existing children, and subsequent fertility. The data are from 2,948 women and 2,622 men aged 15 to 44 years from a longitudinal survey of the household population in Australia. For both sexes a strong positive relationship between prior satisfaction with life and fertility two years later is found. Men’s satisfaction with their partner and with their partner’s relationship with existing children are positively related to fertility. Fertility is also related to age, parity, marital status, education, employment and birthplace.

Suggested Citation

  • Nick Parr, 2010. "Satisfaction with life as an antecedent of fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(21), pages 635-662.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:22:y:2010:i:21
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2010.22.21
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Nick Parr, 2011. "The contribution of increases in family benefits to Australia’s early 21st-century fertility increase: An empirical analysis," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 25(6), pages 215-244.
    2. Arnstein Aassve & Bruno Arpino & Nicoletta Balbo, 2016. "It Takes Two to Tango: Couples’ Happiness and Childbearing," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(3), pages 339-354, August.
    3. Daniele Vignoli & Elena Pirani & Silvana Salvini, 2014. "Family Constellations and Life Satisfaction in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(3), pages 967-986, July.
    4. Sophie Cetre & Andrew E. Clark & Claudia Senik, 2016. "Happy People Have Children: Choice and Self-Selection into Parenthood," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(3), pages 445-473, August.
    5. 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.
    6. Letizia Mencarini & Daniele Vignoli & Tugba Zeydanli & Jungho Kim, 2018. "Life satisfaction favors reproduction. The universal positive effect of life satisfaction on childbearing in contemporary low fertility countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Mikucka, Malgorzata, 2015. "How does parenthood affect life satisfaction in Russia?," MPRA Paper 65376, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Francesca Luppi & Letizia Mencarini, 2018. "Parents’ subjective well-being after their first child and declining fertility expectations," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(9), pages 285-314.
    9. Thomas Hansen, 2012. "Parenthood and Happiness: a Review of Folk Theories Versus Empirical Evidence," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 108(1), pages 29-64, August.
    10. Fabrizio Bernardi & Marco Cozzani, 2021. "Soccer Scores, Short-Term Mood and Fertility," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(3), pages 625-641, July.
    11. Jona Schellekens, 2019. "Does the association between children and happiness vary by level of religiosity? The evidence from Israel," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(5), pages 103-124.
    12. Márta K. Radó, 2020. "Tracking the Effects of Parenthood on Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Hungary," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(6), pages 2069-2094, August.
    13. Małgorzata Mikucka & Ester Rizzi, 2020. "The Parenthood and Happiness Link: Testing Predictions from Five Theories," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(2), pages 337-361, April.
    14. Olga Gómez-Ortiz & Carmen Sánchez-Sánchez, 2022. "Is the Predisposition to Have More Children Beneficial among Parents with Only One Child? Evidence from Spanish Parents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-14, June.
    15. Kyriaki Kalimeri & Mariano G. Beiró & Andrea Bonanomi & Alessandro Rosina & Ciro Cattuto, 2020. "Traditional versus Facebook-based surveys: Evaluation of biases in self-reported demographic and psychometric information," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(5), pages 133-148.
    16. Fumiya Uchikoshi & Ryohei Mogi, 2018. "Order matters: The effect of premarital pregnancy on second childbearing in Japan," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(48), pages 1305-1330.
    17. Jan Priebe, 2020. "Quasi-experimental evidence for the causal link between fertility and subjective well-being," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 839-882, July.
    18. Francesca Luppi, 2016. "When is the Second One Coming? The Effect of Couple’s Subjective Well-Being Following the Onset of Parenthood," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(3), pages 421-444, August.
    19. Le Moglie, Marco & Mencarini, Letizia & Rapallini, Chiara, 2015. "Is it just a matter of personality? On the role of subjective well-being in childbearing behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 453-475.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; Australia; education; longitudinal data; subjective well-being; women's employment; happiness; life satisfaction; depression; risk aversion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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