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How do educational and occupational resources relate to the timing of family formation? A couple analysis of the Netherlands

Author

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  • Katia Begall

    (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen)

Abstract

Background: Fertility research often uses data from women only. This can bias the results if the effects of education and occupation on fertility are dependent upon the characteristics of the male partner. Using retrospective life-course information from both partners, this study examines the effects of educational and occupational characteristics on the transition to a first childbirth. Objective: The objective is to examine how the respective earning potential and career dynamics of the male and the female partners in couples influenced the timing of their entry into parenthood from 1960 to 2009 in the Netherlands, as well as the extent to which the characteristics of the two partners were interdependent in terms of their influence on the transition to a first birth. Methods: Using couple-period data from four pooled cross-sectional waves (1998-2009) of the Family Survey of the Dutch Population, discrete time event history models accounting for unobserved heterogeneity at the couple level are estimated to predict the birth of the first child, starting from the moment couples started living together. Results: The results show that a high earning potential of the female partner (based on her educational attainment, the status of her first job, and whether she is in full-time work or has supervisory responsibilities) has delaying effects on her transition to a first childbirth. With regard to the male partner, the only significant predictors of the entry into parenthood are educational attainment and working hours, and there is no evidence of an interdependence of the partners. The comparison of effects over time indicates that the female partner's higher earning potential has become a stronger predictor of delayed parenthood over time, while a positive effect for the male partner’s higher earning potential is seen only up to 1990. Conclusions: The results suggest that the educational and occupational characteristics and the labor market participation of the female partner are stronger determinants of first-birth timing than the characteristics of the male partner.

Suggested Citation

  • Katia Begall, 2013. "How do educational and occupational resources relate to the timing of family formation? A couple analysis of the Netherlands," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 29(34), pages 907-936.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:29:y:2013:i:34
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2013.29.34
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniël C. Wijk & Helga A. G. Valk & Aart C. Liefbroer, 2022. "Economic Precariousness and the Transition to Parenthood: A Dynamic and Multidimensional Approach," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(3), pages 457-483, August.
    2. Alessandra Trimarchi & Jan Van Bavel, 2017. "Pathways to marital and non-marital first birth: the role of his and her education," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 15(1), pages 143-179.
    3. Leen Marynissen & Karel Neels & Jonas Wood & Sarah Van de Velde, 2020. "Ready for parenthood? Dual earners' relative labour market positions and entry into parenthood in Belgium," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(33), pages 901-932.
    4. Alessandra Trimarchi & Jan Van Bavel, 2017. "Education and the Transition to Fatherhood: The Role of Selection Into Union," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 119-144, February.
    5. Alessandra Trimarchi & Jan Bavel, 2020. "Partners’ Educational Characteristics and Fertility: Disentangling the Effects of Earning Potential and Unemployment Risk on Second Births," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(3), pages 439-464, July.
    6. Chiara Ludovica Comolli, 2021. "Couples' paid work, state-level unemployment, and first births in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(38), pages 1149-1184.
    7. Jessica Nisén & Pekka Martikainen & Mikko Myrskylä & Karri Silventoinen, 2018. "Education, Other Socioeconomic Characteristics Across the Life Course, and Fertility Among Finnish Men," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(3), pages 337-366, August.
    8. Steffen Peters & Kieron J. Barclay, 2022. "Leadership skills and family formation among males. A study based on Swedish register data," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-009, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    9. Beata Osiewalska, 2017. "Childlessness and fertility by couples' educational gender (in)equality in Austria, Bulgaria, and France," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(12), pages 325-362.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; female employment; first birth; event history models; couple analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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