Un nuevo equilibrio de bienestar

From both a quantity and quality perspective, children occupy centre-stage in any welfare equilibrium. Very low fertility does not correspond to citizens’ desires and will, in the long haul, have dire societal consequences. Insufficient investment in the quality of our children will adversely affect their life chances as adults and will also harm our economic well-being. Children are a collective asset and the cost of having children is rising, in particular as women embrace the norm of life-long employment. The double challenge is to eliminate the constraints on having children in the first place, and to ensure that the children we have are ensured optimal opportunities. In the following I analyze the twin challenges of fertility and child development. I then examine which kind of policy mix will ensure both the socially desired level of fertility and investment in our children. The task is to identify a Paretian optimum that will ensure efficiency and social equity gains simultaneously

The Role of Social Institutions in Inter-Generational Mobility

The primary goal of inter-generational mobility (IGM) research has always been to explain how and why social origins influence peoples’ life chances. This has naturally placed family attributes at centre stage. But the role of social institutions, most notably education systems, as a mediating factor has also been central to IGM theory. Indeed, generations of stratification research were premised on the core assumption that equalizing access to education would weaken the impact of social origins. In theory, policies, institutions, as well as macro-economic and historical context, have been identified as crucial in shaping patterns of social mobility (D’Addio, 2007). But apart from education, empirical research has contributed little concrete evidence on how this occurs.

Never partnered: a multilevel analysis of lifelong singlehood

Background: Lifelong singlehood is a comparatively rare demographic phenomenon, averaging about 5% across the European Union. However, levels of lifelong singlehood vary greatly between countries in Europe. What explains this variation? Our main thesis is that it reflects the prevailing norms regarding gender roles. We hypothesize that in societies that have not adapted to women’s new roles there will be a greater propensity toward lifelong singlehood, especially among highly educated women. Objective: We analyze the link between levels of gender egalitarianism and the probability of lifelong singlehood, both overall and by educational attainment. Methods: We apply multilevel modeling to European Social Survey (ESS) and European Values Study (EVS) data collected between 2002 and 2014. We focus on differences in nonpartnering across levels of education. We run separate models for men and women. Results: In support of our hypothesis, our analysis reveals an inverse U-shaped relationship between levels of gender equity and the likelihood of lifelong singlehood for women. The association is particularly marked for more highly educated women, while it is linear for low-educated men. Conclusions: Our results suggest that high levels of singlehood are concentrated very much within those societies where traditional gender values have waned but gender egalitarianism remains poorly diffused. Where gender egalitarianism has become normatively dominant, we find higher levels of partnering for better-educated women and for low-educated men. Contribution: Our study contributes to the limited research on singlehood as well as to the growing body of literature on the demographic consequences of the ongoing revolution in women's roles

How Do Changes in Gender Role Attitudes Towards Female Employment Influence Fertility? A Macro-Level Analysis

This study explores whether the diffusion of gender-equitable attitudes towards female employment is associated with fertility. We argue that any positive effect on fertility requires not only high levels of gender-equitable attitudes overall, but also attitude convergence between men and women. We analyse 27 countries using data from the World Values Surveys and European Values Studies. We find support for a U-shaped relationship between changes in gender role attitudes and fertility: an initial drop in fertility is observed as countries move from a traditional to a more gender-symmetric model. Beyond a certain threshold, additional increases in gender egalitarianism become positively associated with fertility. This curvi-linear relationship is moderated by the difference in attitudes between men and women: when there is more agreement, changes are more rapid and the effect of gender egalitarian attitudes on fertility strengthens

Never partnered: A multilevel analysis of lifelong singlehood

Background: Lifelong singlehood is a comparatively rare demographic phenomenon, averaging about 5Š across the European Union. However, levels of lifelong singlehood vary greatly between countries in Europe. What explains this variation? Our main thesis is that it reflects the prevailing norms regarding gender roles. We hypothesize that in societies that have not adapted to women's new roles there will be a greater propensity toward lifelong singlehood, especially among highly educated women. Objective: We analyze the link between levels of gender egalitarianism and the probability of lifelong singlehood, both overall and by educational attainment. Methods: We apply multilevel modeling to European Social Survey (ESS) and European Values Study (EVS) data collected between 2002 and 2014. We focus on differences in nonpartnering across levels of education. We run separate models for men and women. Results: In support of our hypothesis, our analysis reveals an inverse U-shaped relationship between levels of gender equity and the likelihood of lifelong singlehood for women. The association is particularly marked for more highly educated women, while it is linear for low-educated men. Conclusions: Our results suggest that high levels of singlehood are concentrated very much within those societies where traditional gender values have waned but gender egalitarianism remains poorly diffused. Where gender egalitarianism has become normatively dominant, we find higher levels of partnering for better-educated women and for low-educated men. Contribution: Our study contributes to the limited research on singlehood as well as to the growing body of literature on the demographic consequences of the ongoing revolution in women's roles

When equity matters for marital stability: Comparing German and U.S. couples

none3siComparing West Germany and the U.S., we analyze the association between equity—in terms of the relative gender division of paid and unpaid work hours—and the risk of marriage dissolution. Our aim is to identify under what conditions equity influences couple stability. We apply event-history analysis to marriage histories using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel for West Germany and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for the U.S. for the period 1986–2009/10. For the U.S., we find that deviation from equity is particularly destabilizing when the wife underbenefits, especially when both partners’ paid work hours are similar. In West Germany, equity is less salient. Instead, we find that the male breadwinner model remains the single most stable couple arrangement.mixedBellani D.; Esping Andersen G.; Pessin L.Bellani D.; Esping Andersen G.; Pessin L

Jóléti rezsimek és társadalmi rétegződés

A tanulmány főként Skandinávia példáján keresztül azt vizsgálja, hogy a jóléti állami politikák milyen feltételek mellett járulnak hozzá a lehetőségszerkezetek kiegyenlítéséhez. A generációk közötti mobilitással és az iskolai végzettséggel kapcsolatos adatokon alapuló elemzés feltárja, hogy Skandináviában máshol nem található egyértelmű kiegyenlítő hatás mutatható ki. E hatás azonban aszimmetrikus, mivel majdnem kizárólag alulról felfelé ható kiegyenlítődésről van szó