Fertility change in Egypt

This work focuses on Egypt, a country that notwithstanding its advanced stage of socio-demographic transition has shown near stagnation in the reduction of fertility levels in the last decade. The progression from second to third birth is a crucial component in fertility change, since the reduction especially of third and higher-order births maintains the fertility decline. For this reason, the study aims at analyzing the main determinants of the third-birth intensities of Egyptian two-child mothers, applying an event-history analysis to the 2000 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey. The study’s results show that fertility differentials among the country’s social groups continue to persist. Moreover, the difficult change in the fertility of women with high educational standards seems to be responsible for the stalling fertility decline during recent years. The analysis, however, has demonstrated that within the framework of the ongoing process of modernization in the country, even the most laggard groups of women showed a decrease in third-birth intensity during the 1990s. The study also reveals that the preference for at least one son in the family on the progression to the third child is weakening among women who have completed secondary education.event history analysis, fertility transition in Egypt, progression from second to third birth

Fertility and women’s employment: a meta-analysis

Our research objective was to systematise the existing literature on the relation between fertility and women’s employment at the micro-level. Instead of carrying out a traditional literature review, we conducted a meta-analysis. This allowed us to compare estimates from different studies standardised for the country analysed, the method applied, control variables used, or sample selected. We focused on two effects: the impact of work on fertility and the impact of young children on employment entry. First, we found a high variation in the studied effects among the institutional settings, reflecting the existence of a north-south gradient. Second, we observed a significant change in the effects over time. Finally, we demonstrated that a failure to account for the respondent’s social background, partner and job characteristics tends to produce a bias to the estimated effects.

Things change: Women’s and men’s marital disruption dynamics in Italy during a time of social transformations, 1970-2003

We study women’s and men’s marital disruption in Italy between 1970 and 2003. By applying an event-history analysis to the 2003 Italian variant of the Generations and Gender Survey we found that the spread of marital disruption started among middle-highly educated women. Then in recent years it appears that less educated women have also been able to dissolve their unhappy unions. Overall we can see the beginning of a reversed educational gradient from positive to negative. In contrast the trend in men’s marital disruption risk appears as a change over time common to all educational groups, although with persisting educational differentials.determinants, educational differences, event history analysis, gender difference, Italy, marital disruption

Rising marital disruption in Italy and its correlates

Most of our knowledge on divorce pertains to the USA and northern Europe, while demographic studies from southern Europe are relatively scarce. Our study looks at this knowledge gap through an analysis of the correlates of marital instability in Italy. We use the 2003 Italian Gender and Generation Survey, which reveals recent trends in marital disruption, including those among relatively young cohorts, and we employ event history techniques. Our results show that besides the expected correlation between marital disruption and the women’s birth cohort and socio-economic status, other factors more closely linked to specific aspects of Italian society can also be identified.correlates to marital disruption, event history analysis, Italy

Whose job instability affects the likelihood of becoming a parent in Italy? A tale of two partners

We examine the likelihood of becoming a parent in Italy taking into account the employment (in)stability of both partners in a couple. We use data from four waves of the Italian section of the EU-SILC (Statistics on Income and Living Condition), 2004-2007, accounting for its longitudinal nature. Overall, our results suggest that Italian couples are neither fully traditional nor entirely modern: the "first pillar" (i.e., a male partner with a stable and well-paid job) is still crucial in directing fertility decisions, because, in our interpretation, it gives the household a feeling of (relative) economic security. But this "old" family typology is becoming rare. Increasingly, both partners are employed, and in this case the characteristics of their employment prove important. A permanent occupation for both partners is associated with higher fertility, while alternative job typologies for either of the two depress fertility.employment instability, first birth, income, Italy

Religion and union formation in Italy: Catholic precepts, social pressure, and tradition

Background: Italy is customarily viewed as a traditional Catholic country. At the same time, couples are increasingly living together without marrying. Establishing links between religion and family formation is a complex issue and little is known about specific mechanisms through which religion shapes family change in the country. Objective: We aim to shed light on which aspects of religion are important in decisions about family formation. Methods: We analyze data from eight focus group interviews conducted in Florence. In the transcripts we identify any references to religion and systematically compare categories to investigate how religiosity intertwines with relationship choices. We apply bottom-up coding procedures to identify meaning and concepts within three theoretically relevant areas: Catholic precepts, social pressure, and tradition. Results: Despite the predominance of religion in the studied setting, Italians behave without according much importance to Catholic precepts and dogmas. Religion seems to influence people's family behaviors through social pressures to marry generated by the family of origin and the judgment of 'others'. Tradition also plays an important role. Conclusions: The widely prevailing pressure of parents and peers and the hedonistic aspects of the traditional Church wedding seem to be more important in partnership formation than Catholic prescripts. Thus, we posit that the direct effect of religion on individual choices is overestimated when interpreting the Italian family. In addition, we note the divergence that exists between the lack of state laws concerning consensual unions and the acceptance of cohabitation on an individual basis

Legalizing same-sex marriage matters for the subjective well-being of individuals in same-sex unions

We investigate whether the subjective well-being of individuals in same-sex unions improved following the legalization of same-sex marriage in England and Wales in March 2014. We employ repeated cross-sectional data from the 2011-2016 Annual Population Surveys on 476,411 persons, including 4,112 individuals in coresidential same-sex relationships. The analysis reveals increases in subjective well-being for individuals in same-sex relationships following legalization. Additional analysis documents higher subjective well-being for individuals in married same-sex couples compared with individuals who are in a civil partnership or an informal cohabiting same-sex union. However, the subjective well-being of individuals from same-sex couples increased after legalization among all subgroups considered, including those who cohabited informally. This result hints at a general reduction in structural stigma as an important mechanism behind the improved well-being of individuals in same-sex unions

Employment around first birth in two adverse institutional settings: evidence from Italy and Poland

"In diesem Artikel wird das Erwerbsverhalten von Frauen in Italien und Polen im Umfeld der Geburt des ersten Kindes analysiert. Diese beiden Länder haben hinsichtlich der kulturellen und institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen viel gemeinsam. Sie weisen jedoch auch zentrale Unterschiede auf, die es uns erlauben, genauer zu untersuchen wie die länderspezifischen Faktoren das Erwerbsverhalten von Frauen im Umfeld der Erstgeburt beeinflussen. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass substanzielle Unterschiede im Verhalten über Bildungsgruppen hinweg und zwischen den beiden Ländern bestehen. Wir kommen zu dem Schluss, dass die Bedingungen der Vereinbarkeit von Arbeit und Familie zwar wichtig, aber nicht die einzigen Determinanten für die Entscheidungen der Frauen hinsichtlich der Fertilität und der Erwerbstätigkeit sind. Andere länderspezifische Faktoren sind dabei ebenfalls sehr einflussreich." (Autorenreferat)"This paper analyses women's employment behavior around first birth in Italy and Poland. These two countries have much in common as far as their cultural and institutional frameworks are concerned. However, they also display key differences that allow us to better investigate how the country-specific factors mediate women's employment behaviour around the first birth. Our findings reveal substantial differences in women's behaviour across educational groups and between the two countries. We conclude that conditions for combining work and family, although important, are not the only determinants of women's fertility and employment decisions, and that other country-specific factors are also highly influential." (author's abstract