Education and childlessness: the relationship between educational field, educational level, employment and childlessness among Greek women born in 1955-1959

In this article we expand the analysis of the relationship between educational attainment, educational field and fertility by presenting the case of Greece. The importance is emphasised of both educational field and occupation, as well as their role in the diversity of fertility observed among women. Our empirical investigation is based on census data (2001) pertaining to childbearing, educational and employment histories of an entire cohort of Greek women born in the country in 1955-1959. The analysis indicates that in some cases, the field of education serves better as an indicator of a woman’s potential reproductive behaviour than the educational level attained. In general, the results show some similarities with those already obtained for other countries. In particular, women educated in teaching and health care have lower permanent childlessness at any educational level than any other major grouping. Our results confirm the findings of other studies that higher education does not systematically result in higher childlessness. Among the various factors related to an educational system, which may influence the relationship between education and childlessness, we emphasise the association of education with the labour market and mainly the distinction between employment opportunities in the public and in the private sector for highly educated women. We find that, in several cases, a woman’s profession tends to modify the pattern of childlessness by educational field.

Gender and regional differentials in health expectancy in Greece

Background. Differentials and inequalities in heath status are closely related to the implementation and the sustainability of public health policies. The paper investigates differences in health expectancy as an indicator of population health among regions and between genders.Design and Methods. Based on activity limitation, we compute Healthy Life Years indicator by applying the prevalence-based Sullivan method. The analysis is based on data from the National Health Survey conducted in Greece in 2009 by the Hellenic Statistical Authority, carried out on a multistage probability sample of 6172 individuals.Results. The results show that men are more likely than women to live a greater part of their life in good health. When regions are considered (NUTS_1 and NUTS_2 levels), the resulting diversities in healthy life years are more pronounced than those in life expectancy.Conclusions. The paper provides additional insights about health status discrepancies among Greek geographic regions and between genders. The results indicate that men are more likely to report to be in good health than women, and the differences by gender are more pronounced at regional than at national level. This empirical evidence can be used for monitoring both, the population health status and the undesired differentials in health expectancy, and may therefore be a useful tool for health policies aiming at reducing heath inequalities among individuals

Male fertility in Greece: Trends and differentials by education level and employment status

Background: More than downplayed, the role of men in the demographic analysis of reproduction has been entirely neglected. However, male fertility can be an important issue for exploring how economic and employment uncertainties relate to fertility and family dynamics. Objective: This paper intends to study fertility variations over time, relying solely on data referring to father's socio-demographic characteristics; in particular, their age, education level, and employment status. Methods: We use a combination of Labor Force Survey and Demographic Statistics data on population and Vital Statistics on births to estimate male fertility indicators and fertility differentials by education level and employment status, for the period 1992-2011 in Greece. In addition, over-time developments in male TFR are separated into structural (education-specific and employment-specific distributions) and behavioral (fertility, per se) changes. Results: We find that the male fertility level is declining, the fertility pattern is moving into higher ages, and the reproduction period for men is getting shorter. From 1992 up to 2008, changes in male fertility were mostly driven by behavioral rather than compositional factors. However, the decline of male fertility over the period of economic recession (2008-2011) is largely attributed to the continuous decrease in the proportions of employed men. Conclusions: The study suggests that male fertility merits further exploration. In particular, years of economic downturn and countries where household living standards are mostly associated with male employment, a father's employability is likely to emerge as an increasingly important factor of fertility outcomes

La faible fécondité en Europe. Un séminaire de l'observatoire européen des affaires familiales

International audienceL'Observatoire Européen des Affaires Familiales se penche sur la faible fécondité en Europe à l'occasion de son séminaire annuel, qui a eu lieu à Séville du 15 au 16 Septembre 2000 Beaucoup d'idées reçues en matière de niveau de fécondité en Europe sont en train de voler en éclats. Ainsi, par exemple, il nous faut oublier le stéréotype qui voulait que les familles d'Europe du Sud soient particulièrement fécondes. L'image de la « mamma » italienne à la tête d'une famille nombreuse est tout à fait dépassée. Les femmes italiennes sont parmi celles qui ont le moins d'enfants en Europe, certaines régions connaissant même un indice conjoncturel de fécondité inférieur à 1, alors que les démographes établissent que le taux de remplacement d'une population se situent à 2,1 enfants en moyenne par femme. Une telle révolution du régime de fécondité inquiète les pouvoirs publics, qui ont longtemps évalué la santé économique, politique et sociale des nations à l'aune de la taille de leur population. Qu'adviendra-t-il d'une Europe n'assurant pas le renouvellement des générations, d'une Europe vieillissante ? L'Observatoire européen des affaires familiales a tenté d'y voir plus clair à l'occasion de son séminaire annuel, qui s'est tenu à Séville les 15 et 16 septembre 2000. Loin de tomber dans le travers de l'alarmisme, les communications présentées ont permis de mieux comprendre les tenants et aboutissants du problème

On the contribution of foreign-born populations to overall population change in Europe: Methodological insights and contemporary evidence for 31 European countries

Background: Within the context of significant migration flows, persisting low fertility settings, and population ageing in more developed areas, increased focus has been placed on the impact of migration on population change in receiving countries. Objective: This paper examines the contributions of migrants and natives to population change in 31 European countries for the 2014-2019 period. Methods: Based on a standardisation method, we provide evidence derived from births, deaths, and net migration for the size and diversity of the contributions to overall population change of the two population groups. Results: The results show that the foreign-born population has been the driving force behind overall population change in Europe, as this population has attenuated overall population decline; turned the expected population decline into population growth; or, less frequently, accelerated population growth. Additionally, the differences between countries in the indirect effect of the foreign-born population on population change have been driven more by the differences in the population age structure of migrants than by the timing and level of fertility or by the level of mortality among migrants. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the contribution of the foreign-born population to overall population change in Europe has been pronounced and goes far beyond the contribution of net migration, the commonly used indicator for measuring the effect of the foreign-born population on population change. Contribution: The study provides empirical evidence as regards the increasing importance of foreign-born population for population change in Europe

Pandemic babies? Fertility in the aftermath of the first COVID-19 wave across European regions

Early evidence demonstrates that the fertility response to the COVID-19 pandemic has varied across European countries. Yet, prior research indicates that fertility responses to disasters are often localized sub-nationally. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 incidence, economic pandemic impacts, and the affectedness by virus containment measures varied subnationally across Europe during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sub-national variation in the fertility response seems therefore possible. We conducted a rigorous data collection effort in 28 European countries (equaling 241 European sub-national regions) and used cutting-edge forecasting methods to assess sub-national variation in the fertility response to the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we find sub-national variation, our results reveal that the fertility response to the pandemic was dominated by the country level, with Southern European countries witnessing more negative fertility response to the early pandemic than Northern Europe. Variance decomposition even indicates a ‘nationalization’ of birth rates during the winter months of 2020, as the withincountry variance in fertility declined and between-country variance increased. Nonetheless, highly urbanized areas in Europe experienced significantly steeper fertility declines as a response to the beginning of the pandemic, which is partly explained by their higher SARSCoV-2 incidence rates. SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates emerged as another important predictor of the fertility response more broadly. Higher incidences were associated with steeper fertility declines across the regions. Overall, country-level estimates represent fertility responses to the COVID-19 pandemic generally well, but the regional dimension provides additional important insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted fertility.publishedVersio

Education and childlessness: the relationship between educational field, educational level, employment and childlessness among Greek women born in 1955-1959. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research|Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2010 8|

In this article we expand the analysis of the relationship between educational attainment, educational field and fertility by presenting the case of Greece. The importance is emphasised of both educational field and occupation, as well as their role in the diversity of fertility observed among women. Our empirical investigation is based on census data (2001) pertaining to childbearing, educational and employment histories of an entire cohort of Greek women born in the country in 1955-1959. The analysis indicates that in some cases, the field of education serves better as an indicator of a woman’s potential reproductive behaviour than the educational level attained. In general, the results show some similarities with those already obtained for other countries. In particular, women educated in teaching and health care have lower permanent childlessness at any educational level than any other major grouping. Our results confirm the findings of other studies that higher education does not systematically result in higher childlessness. Among the various factors related to an educational system, which may influence the relationship between education and childlessness, we emphasise the association of education with the labour market and mainly the distinction between employment opportunities in the public and in the private sector for highly educated women. We find that, in several cases, a woman’s profession tends to modify the pattern of childlessness by educational field

La faible fécondité en Europe. Un séminaire de l'observatoire européen des affaires familiales

International audienceL'Observatoire Européen des Affaires Familiales se penche sur la faible fécondité en Europe à l'occasion de son séminaire annuel, qui a eu lieu à Séville du 15 au 16 Septembre 2000 Beaucoup d'idées reçues en matière de niveau de fécondité en Europe sont en train de voler en éclats. Ainsi, par exemple, il nous faut oublier le stéréotype qui voulait que les familles d'Europe du Sud soient particulièrement fécondes. L'image de la « mamma » italienne à la tête d'une famille nombreuse est tout à fait dépassée. Les femmes italiennes sont parmi celles qui ont le moins d'enfants en Europe, certaines régions connaissant même un indice conjoncturel de fécondité inférieur à 1, alors que les démographes établissent que le taux de remplacement d'une population se situent à 2,1 enfants en moyenne par femme. Une telle révolution du régime de fécondité inquiète les pouvoirs publics, qui ont longtemps évalué la santé économique, politique et sociale des nations à l'aune de la taille de leur population. Qu'adviendra-t-il d'une Europe n'assurant pas le renouvellement des générations, d'une Europe vieillissante ? L'Observatoire européen des affaires familiales a tenté d'y voir plus clair à l'occasion de son séminaire annuel, qui s'est tenu à Séville les 15 et 16 septembre 2000. Loin de tomber dans le travers de l'alarmisme, les communications présentées ont permis de mieux comprendre les tenants et aboutissants du problème