Laboratory

Fertility and Well-Being

At a Glance Projects Publications Team

Detailed Description

© kallejipp / photocase.com

Fertility patterns have undergone profound changes in the early 21st century. While substantial variation exists across countries and populations, several broad regularities continue to shape fertility behavior. Fertility postponement has become widespread in high-income countries and is increasingly observed in many middle- and low-income settings. In most high-income societies, fertility has remained persistently low, although countries differ in their responses to recent declines and short-term recoveries. Family formation also continues to be strongly stratified by education, socioeconomic position, and partnership context. At the same time, long-established relationships—such as the negative association between fertility and socioeconomic development—appear to be evolving in highly developed societies.

Research in the Laboratory of Fertility and Well-Being seeks to advance understanding of the determinants and consequences of contemporary and future fertility trends. We examine how socioeconomic development, economic uncertainty, partnership dynamics, and institutional change shape fertility behavior across the life course. Particular attention is given to the role of uncertainty, including economic insecurity and large-scale societal shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, in influencing fertility and union formation. A recurring theme across our research is the heterogeneity of fertility dynamics by educational attainment, labor market position, and partnership trajectory.

Our research also explores fertility postponement and changing family trajectories through the lens of parental age, partnership histories, and family complexity. In addition, we investigate the connections between fertility and health from multiple perspectives, including the role of mental health in childlessness, maternal health in medically assisted reproduction, and the associations between pregnancy intentions, family structure, and child outcomes. Together, these studies deepen our understanding of the interplay between fertility and well-being at both the individual and population levels.

The diversification of family forms is another core research area. Through comparative research, we examine union formation, union dissolution, repartnering, and family complexity across institutional and regional contexts, while explicitly including same-sex couples in our analyses. We also study female and male fertility trends from comparative and subnational perspectives, with particular attention to regional imbalances, partnership markets, and their contribution to childlessness and fertility differences.

Across all research areas, we combine population-level perspectives with analyses of the micro-level mechanisms that drive demographic change. Drawing on longitudinal register data, large-scale surveys, and comparative research designs, we investigate how socioeconomic conditions, institutional change, partnership dynamics, and health intersect to shape fertility trajectories over time.