Unequal Neighbours? A French-German Comparison of Family Size Intentions

Abstract

The neighbouring countries France and Germany show very different levels of fertility. Differences also exist between the two regions of East and West Germany. The aim of this paper is to help close a remaining gap in explaining these differences by applying a cultural concept of role models. Data is based on the German survey “Family-related role models” (2012) and the French survey “Situation de couple, intentions de fécondité et opinions sur la famille”, ELIPSS (2013) offering a new approach to measuring the impact of social norms. The analysis uses multinomial logistic regression. We identified role models regarding the acceptance of childlessness on the one hand and large families on the other, as well as regarding the link between marriage and parenthood and the importance of financial security, suggesting different fertility-related cultures in France and Germany. There is a strong predominance of one general role model in France – that of having at least two children. In Germany, in contrast, there is a dominant role model – the two child family – but there are also several less central role models. The dominant model in France even leads to a sort of self-stigmatisation of individuals who want to stay childless, whereas childlessness is generally accepted in Germany. Role model differences between East and West Germany show a lower acceptance of large families and a higher acceptance of single-child families in the East. Our results highlight the importance of role models for fertility intentions as well as the relevance of cultural dimensions when studying the impact of the institutional framework on fertility.

Why the Standard TFR gives a Misleading Impression of the Fertility of Foreign Women: Insights from Switzerland

“…The impact of foreigner fertility continues to be larger for Switzerland than other European countries (Sobotka 2008). From 2011-2018, it has boosted the overall TFR of the country by an average of 0.11 children per woman annually. The fertility curve by age of foreigners is bi-modal, as described in Burkimsher (2017) and it is the early bulge of women in their 20s that boosts the country's TFR, the cause being the high intensity of births commonly observed in the years following immigration.…”

“…Immigrants from France and Germany comprise a signifi cant and growing share of new arrivals and have characteristic fertility patterns. These are refl ected in the linguistic areas of Switzerland: Francophones enter motherhood earlier, whereas Germanophones more often remain childless -but, if they have one child, they move on to a second more readily (Ruckdeschel et al 2018). The demography of foreigners in Switzerland is the topic of two edited volumes of papers: Wanner et al (2012) includes chapters on fertility, naturalisation and emigration; Steiner and Wanner (2019) covers studies of "Migrants and Expats in Switzerland".…”

Is Early Partnership Formation Instrumental for Fertility in Germany?

“…Other dimensions might exist, for instance with respect to parity or the preferred circumstances for childbearing. Findings from earlier research (Ruckdeschel et al 2018;Schröder et al 2016) suggest that most respondents will anticipate having two children, because of the strong twochild norm in Germany. Therefore, although it may be different in other countries, including parity into the analysis in Germany does not seem useful.…”

“…In comparison with other countries, this fi gure is still low (Eurostat 2018). Furthermore, there is a strong norm prevalent in Germany of two children being the ideal family size (Ruckdeschel et al 2018;Schröder et al 2016). The German context is thus specifi c insofar as the meaning of childbearing is concerned, because this act is tied more strongly to marriage (and thus to the strong institutionalisation of a partnership) than in many other European countries (Nave-Herz 2015; Konietzka Lappegård et al 2017).…”

Transitions to Second Birth and Birth Intervals in France and Spain: Time Squeeze or Social Norms?

“…Moreover, while the two-child family norm is strong (Frejka 2008; Frejka/Sardon 2007; Sobotka/Beaujouan 2014), large families (at least three children) are perceived as an ideal for many people (Ruckdeschel et al 2018;Sobotka/Beaujouan 2014). Regarding the proper timing for childbearing, in 2006, the average ideal age for fi rst motherhood was slightly above 25 years and the average perceived age deadline for motherhood was 42 years (Liefbroer/Merz 2009).…”