The geographic context of male nuptiality in western Germany during the 1980s and 1990s

This paper studies the relationship between characteristics of men’s place of residence and the probability of entering marriage in western Germany during the 1980s and 1990s. We link micro-information from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (GSOEP) with district-level data to estimate discrete-time multilevel logit models. Our results support the widely accepted idea about the importance of men’s individual economic status in marital decisions. They furthermore indicate a negative relationship between women’s aggregate labor force participation and male transition rates to marriage, which could be interpreted as evidence for the popular ‘economic independence hypothesis’ of marital behavior. Complementary, we put forward an interpretation of female employment rates as indicators of a region’s degree of secularization, for example. Consistent with a previous study on female nuptiality in Germany, our findings (which also include a significant latent contextual effect) suggest that a man’s propensity to marry is influenced by the regional socio-cultural milieu he lives in.demography of men, Germany, multilevel analysis, nuptiality

Regional social contexts and individual fertility decisions: a multilevel analysis of first and second births in Western Germany

In this paper, a multilevel approach is used to investigate whether and how regional social contexts influence first and second birth probabilities of women living in western Germany during the 1980s and 1990s. In the theoretical part it is argued that regional opportunity structures as well as local patterns of social interaction and culture may translate into parameters that directly affect individual behaviour. Individual level data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) are then linked with a set of regional indicators to estimate multilevel discrete-time logit models for the transition to the first and second child. The empirical analysis provides no evidence that the distinct fertility differences observed at the regional level are due to autonomous contextual effects. It is rather suggested that most of the observed regional variation may be due to differences in the spatial distribution of individual characteristics. (AUTHOR)Germany (Alte Bundesländer), fertility, geography

Effects of Early Life Family Events on Women’s Late Life Labour Market Behaviour: An Analysis of the Relationship between Childbearing and Retirement in Western Germany

The relationship between a woman’s reproductive history and her entry into retirement is not well-investigated yet. Will mothers exit the workforce earlier than childless women (as they have a weaker labour market orientation; as they are more likely to have a ‘male breadwinner’ in the household), or will they work longer to make-up for employment interruptions during their reproductive phase? We exploit data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to estimate discrete-time logit models for women’s transition to retirement, using detailed information on the individual’s fertility biography as main explanatory variables. Our primary finding is that having children delays a woman’s exit from the labour force. This effect tends to be stronger for mothers who experienced their first birth relatively late. Postponing fertility and retirement should both be driven by a relatively strong career orientation. Thus, in addition to household economic considerations, the individual’s evaluation of her worker role relative to her family role is likely to be important for her retirement timing.

Spatial Proximity and Contacts between Elderly Parents and Their Adult Children: A European Comparison

Using data from the 2004 'Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe' (SHARE), this paper continues and extends recent cross-national research on the proximity and contacts of elderly parents to their adult children. To begin with, we provide a brief description of the 'geography of the family' in ten continental European countries. In the multivariate part of the paper we investigate into the determinants of intergenerational proximity and frequency of contact. Even when microlevel factors are controlled for, the Mediterranean peoples continue to exhibit closer family relations than their northern counterparts. We also find noteworthy systematic differences in the effects of some explanatory variables between 'weak' and 'strong' family countries. When looking at the contemporary European picture as a whole, though, we find no indication at all for a 'crisis' of intergenerational relations.

The differential influence of women´s residential district on the risk of entering first marriage and motherhood in Western Germany

This article investigates the role of women´s residential district in the process of family formation in western Germany during the 1980s and 1990s. Our analysis of the transition to first marriage and motherhood is based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), which we merge with a rich set of district-level data. The estimated multilevel discrete-time logit models suggest that (1) basically all regional heterogeneity in women´s entry into parenthood is due to differences in the respondents´ marital status, while there is (2) a constant and significant regional variation in women´s first marriage probabilities, which cannot be explained by population composition or structural contextual effects. Thus, regional influences on fertility behavior do not have an autonomous quality, but are merely mediated through a latent contextual effect on women´s risk of entering first marriage, which we attribute to regional socio-cultural milieus.Germany/FRG, family formation, geography

Regional Social Contexts and Individual Fertility Decisions: A Multilevel Analysis of First and Second Births in Western Germany

This paper investigates whether and how regional social contexts influence fertility decisions of women living in western Germany during the 1980s and 1990s. It is argued that regional opportunity structures as well as local patterns of social interaction and culture may translate into parameters that directly affect individual behaviour. Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) are linked with a set of regional indicators to estimate multilevel discrete-time logit models for the transition to the first and second child. The empirical analysis provides no evidence that fertility differentials observed at the regional level are due to autonomous contextual effects. It is rather suggested that most of the observed regional variation results from differences in the spatial distribution of individual characteristics.multilevel analysis, fertility; Germany

The Differential Influence of Women's Residential District on Their Risk of Entering Motherhood and First Marriage: A Discrete-Time Multilevel Analysis of Western German Panel Data, 1984 - 1999

To begin with, we sketch a general multilevel model of regional social contexts and individual family formation behavior, where particular attention is paid to the determinants of the actor's situation. Then a set of bridge hypotheses is proposed, on which the empirical investigation of the relationship between properties of the spatial context and women's entry into motherhood and first marriage is based. Individual-level data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (GSOEP) are merged with a rich set of district-level contextual data to estimate first birth and marriage probabilities of western German women during the 1980s and 1990s. None of the estimated multilevel discrete-time logit models provides conclusive evidence for an autonomous contextual influence on women's entry into parenthood. We find, however, a persistent regional effect on the risk of entering first marriage, which we attribute to local nuptiality customs. Variations therein, e.g. regarding the timing of marriage, must probably be understood as the principal origin of different patterns of fertility across western German districts.

Parental gender indifference or persistent sex preferences for children at the turn to the 21st century? A reflection on Pollard and Morgan (2002) with reference to the Swedish case

In their recent ASR article on the sex composition of previous offspring and third births in the US, Pollard and Morgan (2002) argue that changes in the societal gender system - namely increasing opportunities for women - have lead to a decreasing effect of children´s gender on parents´ fertility decisions. If the authors were right in their conclusions, one should expect to find no sex preferences for children in countries with a high level of gender equality. In this reflection, we exploit population register data for the years 1961 to 1999 to examine the Swedish example. Our results show that even in the fairly gender equal Swedish society, a clear preference for one child of each sex has continued to exist until today.

Volunteer Work, Informal Help, and Care among the 50+ in Europe: Further Evidence for ‘Linked’ Productive Activities at Older Ages

Taking a cross-national perspective, we investigate linkages between volunteer work, informal help, and care among Europeans aged 50 or older. Based on 27,305 personal interviews from the 2004 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we estimate univariate and multivariate probit models, which allow us to analyze the interrelationship between different productive activities. There is substantial variation in the participation in volunteering, helping, and caring between countries and regions. Independent of the general level of activity in a country, we find evidence for a complementary and interdependent relationship between all three activities. Our findings not only suggest an important role of societal opportunity structures in elders' productive engagement, but also support notions of the existence of a general motivation for engagement in productive activities.

Gender and the Division of Household Labor in Older Couples: A European Perspective

Using micro-data from the 2004 ‘Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe’ (SHARE), this study investigates the division of household labor in older couples (aged 50+) in a cross-national perspective. Across ten continental European countries, we find considerable variation in the overall distribution of housework between partners. One may roughly distinguish between more egalitarian countries in northern Europe and more traditional countries in the southern parts of Europe. A multivariate analysis shows that the observed spatial pattern is neither due to differences in population composition, nor due to country-specific effects of individual characteristics. We do find a significant effect of macro-level gender inequalities on couples’ division of housework, though. In addition, our analysis suggests the presence of relevant further, though unobserved contextual effects. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research.