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Job Insecurity and the Timing of Parenthood: A Comparison between Eastern and Western Germany

Authors :
Andreas Klärner
Holger von der Lippe
Laura Bernardi
Source :
European Journal of Population
Publication Year :
2007
Publisher :
Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2007.

Abstract

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the economic determinants of fertility behavior by addressing the role of job insecurity in couples’ intentions concerning parenthood and its timing. It starts from the hypothesis that cultural values moderate individuals’ reactions to job insecurity and the way it is related to family formation. With a systematic thematic content analysis of a set of semi-structured interviews with childless men and women around the age of 30 in eastern and western Germany, we are able to show that there are substantial differences in the consequences of job insecurity on intentions to have a first child. In western Germany, a relatively secure job career is expected to precede family formation, and this sequence of transitions is rather rigid, whereas in eastern Germany job security and family formation are thought of and practiced as parallel investments. We suggest that the lack of convergence in family formation patterns between eastern and western Germany after the unification of the country in 1990 is partially related to different attitudes toward job insecurity in the two contexts.

Details

ISSN :
15729885 and 01686577
Volume :
24
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
European Journal of Population / Revue européenne de Démographie
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....16270b87a1a293de8589f8fa375c4e8b
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-007-9127-5