Doctoral Dissertation Research: Relative Socio-Economic Resources and Family Outcomes

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

SES-1102645 Hannah Brueckner Natalie Nitsche What is the relationship between relative socio-economic resources within couples and their fertility outcomes? This dissertation will examine how gender equity, measured as relative levels of income, education, working hours, and occupational status affects the transition to first and second births among married and cohabitating couples in the United States and Germany. To date, little is known about how gender equity on the couple-level and the role of the (male) partner are influencing fertility outcomes. Recent research suggests that gender equity within couples is a major driving force behind low fertility in many developed societies today. While there studies that have investigated the effect of the gendered division of household labor on birth transitions, this dissertation argues that the gendered division of household labor is problematic as an indicator of intra-couple gender equity. This is because research has shown that it is itself an outcome of relative resources within couples, and, furthermore, ignores the amount of domestic and care work that is outsourced by the household to professional services. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the German Family Survey, this dissertation will therefore use event history and fixed-effects models to understand how relative resources, absolute resources, and the interaction among the two in couples affect the timing and likelihood of a first and second birth. This study will advance theories on fertility outcomes and will augment our understanding of how gender equity within couples contributes to first and second birth transitions. It will furthermore contribute to the knowledge on the driving forces behind the divide in total fertility rates between the low fertility regimes in Europe and the US as a country with replacement fertility. Fertility rates below the replacement level are currently puzzling European policy makers and are raising concerns regarding the sustainability of social welfare systems in much of the developed world. At the same time, women's gains in education and labor market participation are at unprecedented levels, and social science research is still in the process of understanding how changes in women's economic status are contributing to declining fertility levels. This study will speak to both of these issues and provide new insights into how women?s socio-economic status is mediated by her partner in shaping fertility outcomes. In comparing Germany and the US, new insights will be gained in how micro processes on the couple level interact with institutional features of welfare states and affect the likelihood of the occurrence of first and second births. These results can inform policy makers with respect to forming policies that encourage both female socio-economic advancement and the occurrence of first and second births.