Fertility in Italy and Spain: The Lowest in the World

Perez, Margarita Delgado; Livi‐Bacci, Massimo

doi:10.2307/2136019

Cited by 45 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…Sweden, meanwhile, had a TFR of 2.17 births (World Bank, 2017). In 1964, the EU had an annual high of 7.7 million total births, which declined to a low of 5.0 million births in 2002 (Pérez & Livi-Bacci, 1992). While there are fluctuations in national fertility rates over the course of this paper's timeline, http://scholarship.claremont.edu/urceu/vol2017/iss1/5 they are temporary and do not detract from the overall effect of Europe's declining fertility.…”

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Sweden has a largely different fertility history and will be used for contrast. In 1960, TFRs in Italy and Spain were fairly typical at 2.37 and 2.86 births, respectively, when they began declining steadily (Pérez & Livi-Bacci, 1992;World Bank, 2017). Sweden, meanwhile, had a TFR of 2.17 births (World Bank, 2017).…”

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While there are fluctuations in national fertility rates over the course of this paper's timeline, http://scholarship.claremont.edu/urceu/vol2017/iss1/5 they are temporary and do not detract from the overall effect of Europe's declining fertility. In the post-war period, fertility rates peaked around 2.5-3.0 births per woman (Pérez & Livi-Bacci, 1992). But during the 1960s, there was a downward shift in the total fertility rates of many European countries as women entered the workforce and began postponing childbearing.…”

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was attributed to increased access to education, changing notions of family formation, and a cultural shift in gender roles for women (Modena, Rondinelli, & Sabatini, 2014). Couples in Italy and Spain married at a later age, which depressed fertility; postponing pregnancy rose the average age of first births and decreased overall fertility in this period (Pérez & Livi-Bacci, 1992). In the 1980s and 1990s, the decline was attributed to the tenuous economic situation, in which excess children were an unsupportable expense.…”

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies show a discrepancy between ideal and actual family size in Europe (Chesnais, 1996;Sleebos, 2003). Pérez and Livi-Bacci (1992) studied the fertility patterns of women in Italy and Spain and questioned women's family size preferences. Their answers imply "that Italians have not rejected the concept of replacement-lever fertility" (p. 167); in fact, their fertility ideals were much higher than the actual rates.…”

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

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European Fertility: An Examination of Shifting Fertility Trends in Italy, Spain, and Sweden

Carducci¹

2017

URCEU

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Total fertility rates throughout the European Union (EU) have fallen and are now below the replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. Maintaining a sustainable population size is crucial for the future of the EU, and this concerns both politicians and scholars. This paper will examine three countries to represent the broader EU and discern causal factors in this fertility crisis. Italy and Spain are two southern states experiencing sharp fertility decline, while Sweden is a northern nation with a more modest change. I argue that women's economic stability and experience of gendered norms within the domestic sphere are the two key factors in shifting fertility outcomes. Women's job security and family planning are often put at odds, complicating the decision to have multiple children. If fertility rates are to improve, countries must understand and address the socio-cultural norms and political institutions that empower or impede women's combined employment and fertility.

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Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

European Fertility: An Examination of Shifting Fertility Trends in Italy, Spain, and Sweden

Carducci¹

2017

URCEU

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Do childcare arrangements make the difference? a multilevel approach to the intention of having a second child in Italy

Fiori

2011

Population Space and Place

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Does more support in childcare increase the mother's desire to have a second child? An answer to this question was sought in Italy, a country characterised by very low fertility. The paper explores the existence of effects on individual decisions at different levels, in the hypotheses that fertility preferences are not only related to women's individual traits, but also affected by the interactions with the surrounding social network and by the opportunity/constraints of the context of residence. Data from the ISTAT Survey on Births completed in 2005 were used to study the impact of different childcare arrangements on expected fertility of women who had a child between 18 to 21 months prior to their interviews (N = 5145). A multilevel strategy of analysis was adopted to assess the existence of a contextual effect beyond the observed individual effects. Working women in the sample have the same fertility intentions as non‐working women, but these expectations are conditioned by several factors. A higher paternal commitment in childbirth, childcare and household chores is positively associated to the intention of a second child; help from the informal family network shows a significant positive effect on women's childbearing intentions. Finally, and although the empirical analysis here performed does not provide clear evidence of autonomous contextual effects, it is argued that individual behaviours are connected to the context in which they belong and researchers' efforts should be directed towards its correct specification, transcending the standard geographical focus of social contextualisation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Rothenbacher¹

2005

The European Population Since 1945

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Fertility in Italy and Spain: The Lowest in the World

Cited by 45 publications

References 0 publications

European Fertility: An Examination of Shifting Fertility Trends in Italy, Spain, and Sweden

European Fertility: An Examination of Shifting Fertility Trends in Italy, Spain, and Sweden

Do childcare arrangements make the difference? a multilevel approach to the intention of having a second child in Italy

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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