Institutional, economic and cultural factors affecting the decision of having a child in European countries : a couple’s approach

In order to answer the research questions of this thesis, three chapters are produced. The first is devoted to the association between economic uncertainty and the transition to first birth in Greece. The second chapter tries to investigate if religious practice correlates with fertility intentions in eleven European countries (Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia, Germany, Romania, Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic and Sweden). Finally, the third chapter is devoted to the link between the socioeconomic characteristics of the couple and the use of parental leave by the father in Germany. In the second chapter, I answer the research questions regarding the effect of couples' economic uncertainty on their fertility in Greece, and how the 2008 Great Recession has affected the fertility of couples in the same country. In this chapter, the database used is EU-SILC (European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions), and more precisely the waves from 2005 to 2013, in order to cover the period prior to the economic crisis of 2008 and the period of crisis. The results show a double path towards the first birth as a Greek specificity. First, couples where both partners have a high income are more likely to have a first child, while couples where both partners have a permanent contract are also more likely to have a first child. Second, high educational homogamy and hypogamy are positively associated with first birth. This result could indicate an advantage for educated women in negotiating partner involvement in family work and / or in the outsourcing of family work. Finally, during the Great Recession of 2008, all types of household organization - even couples where both partners work with a permanent contract - decreased their likelihood of having a first child. This result allows me to conclude that an economic recession can worsen expectations about the future and reduce the likelihood of having a child, even for people in good jobs. Particularly in the case of Gre
(POLS - Sciences politiques et sociales) -- UCL, 2021