March 31, 2003 | Press Release
Fertility decisions in times of societal and economic change - eastern Germany in the 1990s
Almost simultaneously with German reunification, eastern German birth rates fell to record lows. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of the labor market and of family policies in fertility decisions in the 1990s. In addition, factors will be discussed that worked against a convergence of birth rates in east and west despite the political and legal unification of the formerly separated German states. Alongside developments on the labor market we will examine, in particular, the differences in female employment and in the structural conditions affecting a woman's ability to combine work and family. The German Micro-Census and the German Socio-Economic Panel serve as the data base - event-analytical models of the transition to the first and second child are estimated.
One of the fundamental results of the empirical analysis is that eastern German women continue to be somewhat younger than western German women when they have their first child. Surprisingly, unemployment (this includes both male and female unemployment) does not cause couples to postpone the birth of their first child. When it comes to having a second child, the situation is reversed. Eastern German couples are less apt to decide to have a second child than their western German counterparts. Furthermore, the employment situation - especial that of the partner - plays a crucial role in the decision to have a larger family.
About the MPIDR
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock investigates the structure and dynamics of populations. The Institute’s researchers explore issues of political relevance, such as demographic change, aging, fertility, and the redistribution of work over the life course, as well as digitization and the use of new data sources for the estimation of migration flows. The MPIDR is one of the largest demographic research bodies in Europe and is a worldwide leader in the study of populations. The Institute is part of the Max Planck Society, the internationally renowned German research organization.
Publications on this topic:
Kreyenfeld, M.: Crisis or adaptation reconsidered: a comparison of East and West German fertility in the first six years after the 'Wende'. MPIDR Working Paper No. 2002-032.
Kreyenfeld, M.: Employment and fertility - East Germany in the 1990s. Dissertation. Rostock University (2001).
Kreyenfeld, M.: Changes in the timing of first birth in East Germany after re-unification. Schmollers Jahrbuch - Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften 120(2000)2, 169-186.