Gender and generations dimensions in welfare-state policies

This note outlines welfare-state research that could possibly provide a framework for the collection of demographically relevant gender- and generation-sensitive welfare-state data for the GGS contextual database. It has been prepared for the Gender-and-Generations Program and is the basis of further work of the Contextual Working Group of the Gender-and-Generations Program. First, this note summarizes results of demographic research that deals with the effects of public policies on demographic behavior. This is followed by a brief outline of what kind of data we need for (comparative) research of policy effects on demographic issues. Secondly, it gives a brief account of those conceptualizations of the welfare state that seem relevant for the purpose of our project. Thirdly, it presents a provisional and by no means complete list of some welfare-state-related measures that can be collected for a contextual database. This list serves as an example of what we need and how we should collect data in order to be able to incorporate features of welfare states and public policies in demographic analyses.

Family policies and fertility in Europe: fertility policies at the intersection of gender policies, employment policies and care policies

This article explores the relationship between family policies, fertility, employment and care. It suggests that similar family policies are likely to exert different effects in different contexts. It argues that a proper assessment of effects of family policies needs to take the combined spectrum of gender relations, welfare-state structures, and labor-market development into account.Europe, family policies, fertility

A summary of Special Collection 3

Special Collection 3: Contemporary Research on European Fertility: Perspectives and Developments was produced as a surprise in honor of Jan M. Hoem on his 65th birthday. The authors who have contributed to this special Volume presented their papers at a working party at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, April 2004. Ten articles were submitted to the journal Demographic Research and went through peer review. They were published, along with an introduction, on 17 April 2004 as the journal’s third "special collection" of material on a common topic. This short summary of the collection has been added to Volume 10 in order to include full details of the collection in the current running volume as well. The following pages list the contributions and give direct links where readers may download the material from the Demographic Research website. A full list of all papers is also available at: http://www.demographic-research.org/special/3/.Europe, fertility, fertility research

Family policies in Western Europe: fertility policies at the intersection of gender, employment and care policies

'Der Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit dem Zusammenhang zwischen Familienpolitik, Fertilität, Erwerbstätigkeit und Kinderbetreuung. Er demonstriert, dass ähnliche familienpolitische Maßnahmen unterschiedliche Wirkungen entfalten können und familienpolitische Maßnahmen nur im Kontext des Geschlechterverhältnisses, der jeweiligen Konfiguration des Wohlfahrtsstaates und der Beschäftigungsentwicklung analysiert werden können.' (Autorenreferat)'The article explores the relationship between family policies, fertility, employment and care. It shows that similar family policies may exert different effects and argues that an assessment of family policies needs to take gender relations, welfare-state configurations, and labor-market development into account.' (author's abstract

Education and permanent childlessness: Austria vs. Sweden; a research note

In this research note we extend our previous study of the association between educational attainment and permanent childlessness in Sweden (Hoem et al., 2006) to cover Austria, and we make comparisons between the two countries. In both investigations we have defined educational attainment in terms of both educational level and educational field. We find largely the same pattern of childlessness by educational field in both countries; in particular at each educational level women educated for teaching jobs or for health occupations typically have lower childlessness than other lines of education. However, for most groups childlessness is higher in Austria, and for academic educations it is much higher. We attribute these differences to institutional differences in the two countries which may bring about a different culture of reproductive behavior.Austria, education, fertility

Family policies and low fertility in Western Europe

This article examines current family policies in Western Europe against the backdrop of fertility decline in Europe. Its objective is to depict the nature of family policies from a cross-national perspective in order to illuminate potential relationships between them and demographic patterns. The article concentrates on those family policies that constitute the core of welfare-state policies related to childbearing and the rearing of children: Maternity policies, parental-leave policies, childcare services, and child benefits.

Bildung und Kinderlosigkeit in Österreich und in Schweden

"Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit dem Zusammenhang zwischen Bildungshöhe, Bildungsrichtung und Kinderlosigkeit österreichischer und schwedischer Frauen der Geburtenjahrgänge 1955-59. In beiden Ländern haben Frauen mit einer Ausbildung im Unterrichts- oder Gesundheitsbereich eine geringere Kinderlosigkeit als Frauen mit einer Ausbildung in anderen Bildungsrichtungen. Deutliche Unterschiede bestehen hingegen im Ausmaß der Kinderlosigkeit zwischen schwedischen und österreichischen Frauen nach Bildungshöhe: Schwedische Frauen mit Universitätsausbildung haben im Schnitt nur wenig höhere Kinderlosigkeit als Frauen mit niedrigerem Bildungsabschluss. In Österreich dagegen bleiben Frauen mit Abitur oder höherem Bildungsabschluss wesentlich öfters kinderlos als Frauen mit niedrigerem Bildungsabschluss." (Autorenreferat)"This article deals with the association between educational level, educational line, and childlessness among Austrian and Swedish women born 1955-59. In both countries women educated for teaching jobs or for health occupations have lower childlessness than women educated for other professions. However, childlessness by educational level differs markedly between the two countries. Swedish women with tertiary education have only slightly higher childlessness than women with lower educational attainment. In Austria, however, women with an education at high-school level or above remain significantly more often childless than women with a lower education." (author's abstract