Abstract
The aim of this paper will be to explain the differences in birth rates among European countries by analysing how the level of fertility is related to a number of dimensions of importance for the work-life balance in the European households. The dimensions included in our analysis of fertility are women's employment pattern, the level of support for mothers in reconciling work and caring obligations provided by family policies and the cultural norms prevailing in the various European countries.
In the paper we first give a short overview of a number of recent studies of the relationship fertility, women's employment and family policy. Because of the huge interest for studying fertility it can only be a fraction of the large number of studies and only some relevant perspectives of importance for this paper. The second section gives a short historical overview of the development in fertility for the WORKCARE countries followed in the third section by an analysis of the relationship between fertility and women's labour market affiliation. In section four we analyse the relationship between level of fertility and the different European family policy models - each model represented by a WORKCARE country.
| Original language | English |
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| Place of Publication | Aberdeen |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Fertility
- Family Policy
- Women's Employment
- EU member States