IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v30y2014i22.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social networks and fertility

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Bernardi

    (Université de Lausanne)

  • Andreas Klärner

    (Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut)

Abstract

Background: The fields of demography, sociology, and socio-psychology have been increasingly drawing on social network theories, which posit that individual fertility decision-making depends in part on the fertility behavior of other members of the population, and on the structure of the interactions between individuals. After reviewing this literature, we highlight the benefits of taking a social network perspective on fertility and family research. Objective: We review the literature that addresses the extent to which social mechanisms, such as social learning, social pressure, social contagion, and social support, influence childbearing decisions. Methods: We review the most recent contributions of the social networks approach for the explanation of fertility dynamics in contemporary post-industrial societies. Conclusions: We find that all of the social mechanisms reviewed influence the beliefs and norms individuals hold regarding childbearing, their perceptions of having children, and the context of opportunities and constraints in which childbearing choices are made. The actual impact of these mechanisms on fertility tempo and quantum strongly depends on the structure of social interaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Bernardi & Andreas Klärner, 2014. "Social networks and fertility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(22), pages 641-670.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:30:y:2014:i:22
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.22
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol30/22/30-22.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.22?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. Kohler, Hans-Peter, 2001. "Fertility and Social Interaction: An Economic Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199244591.
    2. Clémentine Rossier & Laura Bernardi, 2009. "Social Interaction Effects on Fertility: Intentions and Behaviors," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 25(4), pages 467-485, November.
    3. Melinda Mills & Nicoletta Balbo, 2011. "The influence of the family network on the realisation of fertility intentions," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 9(1), pages 179-206.
    4. Hans‐Peter Kohler & Francesco C. Billari & José Antonio Ortega, 2002. "The Emergence of Lowest‐Low Fertility in Europe During the 1990s," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 28(4), pages 641-680, December.
    5. Paul Mathews & Rebecca Sear, 2013. "Does the kin orientation of a British woman’s social network influence her entry into motherhood?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 28(11), pages 313-340.
    6. Angelika Tölke & Martin Diewald, 2003. "Insecurities in employment and occupational careers and their impact on the transition to fatherhood in Western Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 9(3), pages 41-68.
    7. Torkild Lyngstad & Alexia Prskawetz, 2010. "Do siblings’ fertility decisions influence each other?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(4), pages 923-934, November.
    8. Tiziana Nazio & Hans-Peter Blossfeld, 2003. "The Diffusion of Cohabitation among Young Women in West Germany, East Germany and Italy," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 47-82, March.
    9. Mark J. Gibson & Tim A. Graciano, 2011. "The Decision to Import," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 93(2), pages 444-449.
    10. Sylvia Keim & Andreas Klärner & Laura Bernardi, 2009. "Fertility-relevant social networks: composition, structure, and meaning of personal relationships for fertility intentions," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-006, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    11. Markus Kotte & Volker Ludwig, 2011. "Intergenerational transmission of fertility intentions and behaviour in Germany: the role of contagion," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 9(1), pages 207-226.
    12. Nicoletta Balbo & Nicola Barban & Melinda Mills, 2013. "Friend and peer effects on entry into marriage and parenthood: A multiprocess approach," Working Papers 056, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    13. Michaela Kreyenfeld & Gunnar Andersson & Ariane Pailhé, 2012. "Economic Uncertainty and Family Dynamics in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 27(28), pages 835-852.
    14. Maria Rita Testa & Vegard Skirbekk & Wolfgang Lutz, 2006. "The Low Fertility Trap Hypothesis. Forces that May Lead to Further Postponement and Fewer Births in Europe," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 4(1), pages 167-192.
    15. Berkay Özcan & Karl Ulrich Mayer & Joerg Luedicke, 2010. "The impact of unemployment on the transition to parenthood," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 23(29), pages 807-846.
    16. Maria Letizia Tanturri & Letizia Mencarini, 2008. "Childless or Childfree? Paths to Voluntary Childlessness in Italy," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 34(1), pages 51-77, March.
    17. Valente, Thomas W. & Watkins, Susan C. & Jato, Miriam N. & Van Der Straten, Ariane & Tsitsol, Louis-Philippe M., 1997. "Social network associations with contraceptive use among Cameroonian women in voluntary associations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 677-687, September.
    18. Nicoletta Balbo & Nicola Barban, 2012. "Does fertility behavior spread among friends?," Working Papers 050, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    19. Catherine Hakim, 2003. "A New Approach to Explaining Fertility Patterns: Preference Theory," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 29(3), pages 349-374, September.
    20. Susan Cotts Watkins, 2000. "Local and Foreign Models of Reproduction in Nyanza Province, Kenya," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 26(4), pages 725-759, December.
    21. Monika Mynarska, 2010. "Deadline for Parenthood: Fertility Postponement and Age Norms in Poland [L’âge limite pour avoir des enfants: Report de la procréation et normes d’âge en Pologne]," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 26(3), pages 351-373, August.
    22. Hans-Peter Kohler & Jere Behrman & Susan Watkins, 2001. "The density of social networks and fertility decisions: evidence from south nyanza district, kenya," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(1), pages 43-58, February.
    23. Belinda Diaz & Thomas Fent & Alexia Prskawetz & Laura Bernardi, 2011. "Transition to Parenthood: The Role of Social Interaction and Endogenous Networks," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(2), pages 559-579, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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 & Nicola Barban & Melinda Mills, 2013. "Friend and peer effects on entry into marriage and parenthood: A multiprocess approach," Working Papers 056, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    2. 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.
    3. Daniel Lois, 2016. "Types of social networks and the transition to parenthood," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(23), pages 657-688.
    4. Johan Junkka, 2018. "Voluntary Associations and Net Fertility During the Swedish Demographic Transition," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(5), pages 819-848, December.
    5. Sebastian Pink, 2018. "Anticipated (Grand-)Parental Childcare Support and the Decision to Become a Parent," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(5), pages 691-720, December.
    6. Rannveig Kaldager Hart & Sara Cools, 2017. "Identifying fertility contagion using random fertility shocks," Discussion Papers 861, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    7. Zafer Buyukkececi & Thomas Leopold & Ruben Gaalen & Henriette Engelhardt, 2020. "Family, Firms, and Fertility: A Study of Social Interaction Effects," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(1), pages 243-266, February.
    8. Daniele Vignli & Letizia Mencarini & Giammarco Alderotti, 2018. "Is the Impact of Employment Uncertainty on Fertility Intentions Channeled by Subjective Well-Being?," Working Papers 114, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    9. Doris Hanappi & Valérie-Anne Ryser & Laura Bernardi & Jean-Marie Le Goff, 2017. "Changes in Employment Uncertainty and the Fertility Intention–Realization Link: An Analysis Based on the Swiss Household Panel," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 381-407, July.
    10. Markus Kotte & Volker Ludwig, 2011. "Intergenerational transmission of fertility intentions and behaviour in Germany: the role of contagion," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 9(1), pages 207-226.
    11. Ying Li & Quanbao Jiang, 2017. "The Intergenerational Effect and Second Childbirth: Survey Findings from the Shaanxi Province of China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 669-691, September.
    12. Ankita Mishra & Jaai Parasnis, 2017. "Peers and Fertility Preferences: An Empirical Investigation of the Role of Neighbours, Religion and Education," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(1), pages 339-357, October.
    13. Francesco C. Billari & Osea Giuntella & Luca Stella, 2019. "Does broadband Internet affect fertility?," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 73(3), pages 297-316, September.
    14. Christoph Bühler & Dimiter Philipov, 2005. "Social Capital Related to Fertility: Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Evidence from Bulgaria," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 3(1), pages 53-81.
    15. Susanne Fahlén & Livia Sz. Oláh, 2018. "Economic uncertainty and first-birth intentions in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(28), pages 795-834.
    16. Joshua R. Goldstein & Tomáš Sobotka & Aiva Jasilioniene, 2009. "The end of 'lowest-low' fertility? (with supplementary materials)," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-029, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    17. Maria De Paola & Roberto Nisticò & Vincenzo Scoppa, 2024. "Workplace Peer Effects in Fertility Decisions," CSEF Working Papers 714, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    18. Schmitt, Christian, 2021. "The impact of economic uncertainty, precarious employment, and risk attitudes on the transition to parenthood," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47, pages 1-1.
    19. Ronald R. Rindfuss & Sarah R. Brauner-Otto, 2008. "Institutions and the transition to adulthood: Implications for fertility tempo in low-fertility settings," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 6(1), pages 57-87.
    20. Daniele Vignoli & Valentina Tocchioni & Alessandra Mattei, 2018. "First-Birth Gains and Losses from the First Job in Italy: The Role of Employment Uncertainty," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2018_02, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".

    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; industrialized countries; social networks;
    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:30:y:2014:i:22. 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.