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Patriarchy and fertility in Albania

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  • Mathias Lerch

    (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL))

Abstract

Background: Theories of fertility collapse in the post-socialist era imply a decline in the moral primacy of traditional social institutions. Yet gender inequality actually increased in many countries, and there is a scarcity of empirical evidence for the role played by traditional social institutions in reproductive decision-making. Objective: We investigate whether patriarchal institutions sustained the fertility levels in Albania. The geography of marriage and family enlargement is related to the importance of patriarchy in kinship organisation and in the public sphere. To account for this spatial relationship we test the evidence for different pathways in patriarchal influence on reproductive decision-making including social effects, socialisation in patriarchal ideals, and the promotion of male fertility. Methods: We reconstruct reproductive histories from the 2001 Census and use data on attitudes and fertility intentions from the Reproductive and Health Survey 2002. Multilevel logistic regressions on marriage and (the intention of) higher order births are used. Results: A majority of women endorsed patriarchal ideals and fertility transition was less advanced in more patriarchal municipalities. Patriarchal kinship organisation promoted early marriages and high fertility, which is shown to be achieved by social learning among peers and intergenerational social influences respectively, as well as by women's socialisation and a stopping behaviour in childbearing dominated by son-preference. Although gender inequality in the public sphere has also sustained the level of fertility and decreased the risk of marriage, it was not accounted for by these pathways of patriarchal influence. Conclusions: Despite Albania's gradual opening to the world in a period of economic and political crisis, traditional social institutions remain important for family behaviours.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathias Lerch, 2013. "Patriarchy and fertility in Albania," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 29(6), pages 133-166.
  • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:29:y:2013:i:6
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2013.29.6
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    1. Konstantin Kazenin & Vladimir Kozlov, 2023. "Ethnicity and fertility of descendants of rural-to-urban migrants: the case of Daghestan (North Caucasus)," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 69-93, March.
    2. Lantona Sado & Federico Benassi & Alma Spaho, 2018. "How the Early Childhood Well-Being Lies within the Family Context in Albania," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(4), pages 1301-1319, August.
    3. Sado, Lantona & Spaho, Alma & Hotchkiss, David R., 2014. "The influence of women's empowerment on maternal health care utilization: Evidence from Albania," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 169-177.
    4. Konstantin Kazenin & Vladimir Kozlov, 2020. "What factors support the early age patterns of fertility in a developing country: the case of Kyrgyzstan," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 18(1), pages 185-213.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; multilevel analysis; Albania; postcommunist crisis; patriarchy; social institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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