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Estimating male fertility in eastern and western Germany since 1991: A new lowest low?

Author

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  • Christian Dudel

    (Max-Planck-Institut für Demografische Forschung)

  • Sebastian Kluesener

    (Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB))

Abstract

Background: Research on fertility differentials between eastern and western Germany after German reunification in 1990 has focused on the fertility of women. Trends in the fertility of men are rarely studied due to data constraints and methodological challenges. Objective: This paper aims to close this gap by analyzing fertility differentials between eastern and western German males over the period 1991-2013. We consider different approaches to estimate male fertility and investigate variation in fertility trends, levels, and timing. Methods: We use German birth register data to estimate age-specific fertility rates and total fertility rates. As the paternal age is unknown for a non-negligible proportion of births, we compare imputation techniques and conduct sensitivity analyses. For the population at risk we employ adjusted numbers that attempt to account for the overcount in the population of childbearing age in the 1990s and the 2000s. Results: The trends and differences in the fertility of eastern and western German men are roughly similar to those observed among women. However, male fertility levels are lower, and male and female fertility vary in terms of timing. The total fertility rate of eastern German males in 1994 of 0.74 is likely to represent a record low. Whereas the fertility levels of eastern German women recently surpassed those of western German women, the fertility levels of eastern German men are still lower than those of their western German counterparts. Contribution: We compare methods to estimate male fertility trends.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Dudel & Sebastian Kluesener, 2016. "Estimating male fertility in eastern and western Germany since 1991: A new lowest low?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(53), pages 1549-1560.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:35:y:2016:i:53
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2016.35.53
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    1. repec:cai:popine:popu_p1977_32n6_1158 is not listed on IDEAS
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    5. Jessica Nisén & Pekka Martikainen & Karri Silventoinen & Mikko Myrskylä, 2014. "Age-specific fertility by educational level in the Finnish male cohort born 1940‒1950," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 31(5), pages 119-136.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bruno Schoumaker, 2017. "Measuring male fertility rates in developing countries with Demographic and Health Surveys: An assessment of three methods," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(28), pages 803-850.
    2. Christian Dudel & Sebastian Klüsener, 2019. "New opportunities for comparative male fertility research: insights from a new data resource based on high-quality birth registers," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2019-023, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    3. Dudel, Christian & Klüsener, Sebastian, 2019. "New opportunities for comparative male fertility research: Insights from a new data resource based on high-quality birth registers," SocArXiv 8kqws, Center for Open Science.
    4. Christian Dudel & Sebastian Klüsener, 2017. "Estimating male fertility from vital registration data with missing values," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2017-019, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    5. Bauer, Thomas K. & Rulff, Christian & Tamminga, Michael M., 2019. "Berlin calling - Internal migration in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 823, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    6. Andreea Alexandra Piriu, 2022. "Globalization and Gender‐Specific Patterns in Individual Fertility Decisions," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(1), pages 129-160, March.
    7. Christian Dudel & Sebastian Klüsener, 2021. "Male–Female Fertility Differentials Across 17 High-Income Countries: Insights From A New Data Resource," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(2), pages 417-441, April.
    8. Linus Andersson, 2023. "The Role of Gender Differences in Partnering and Re-partnering for Gender Differences in Completed Fertility," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(2), pages 1-28, April.
    9. Dudel, Christian & Klüsener, Sebastian, 2019. "Male fertility data for 17 high-income countries: Data documentation and methods," SocArXiv 9sx58, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    male fertility; fertility; lowest-low fertility; Germany; East Germany; West Germany; fertility rates; total fertility rate (TFR); fertility timing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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