Institutions and the Transition to Adulthood: Implications for Fertility Tempo in Low-Fertility Settings

Citation

Rindfuss, Ronald R. & Brauner-Otto, Sarah R. (2008). Institutions and the Transition to Adulthood: Implications for Fertility Tempo in Low-Fertility Settings. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, 57-87. PMCID: PMC2901179

Abstract

The number of countries experiencing very low fertility has been rising in recent years, garnering increasing academic, political and media attention. There is now widespread academic agreement that the postponement of fertility is a major contributing factor in the very low levels of fertility that have occurred, and yet most policy discussions have been devoted to increasing the numbers of children women have. We discuss factors in three institutions—the educational system, the labour market and the housing market—that may inadvertently have led to childbearing postponement. We highlight important components of the timing of childbearing, including its changing place within the transition to adulthood across countries and the significance of the demands of child

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1553/populationyearbook2008s57

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2008

Journal Title

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research

Author(s)

Rindfuss, Ronald R.
Brauner-Otto, Sarah R.

PMCID

PMC2901179