Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:17:41.931Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The third birth in Great Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Robert E. Wright
Affiliation:
Centre for Population Studies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
John F. Ermisch
Affiliation:
National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London
P. R. Andrew Hinde
Affiliation:
Centre for Population Studies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Heather E. Joshi
Affiliation:
Centre for Population Studies, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Summary

The relationship between female labour force participation, and other socioeconomic factors, and the probability of having a third birth is examined, using British data collected in the 1980 Women and Employment Survey, by hazard regression modelling with time-varying covariates. The results demonstrate the strong association between demographic factors, e.g. age at first birth and birth interval and subsequent fertility behaviour. Education appears to have little effect. Surprisingly, women who have spent a higher proportion of time as housewives have a lower risk of having a third birth. This finding is in sharp disagreement with the conventional expectation that cumulative labour force participation supports lower fertility. These findings are briefly compared with similar research carried out in Sweden.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allison, P. (1982) Discrete-time methods for the analysis of event histories. In: Sociological Methodology, pp. 6198. Edited by Leinhardt, S.. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.Google Scholar
De Cooman, E., Ermisch, J. & Joshi, H. (1987) The next birth and the labour market: a dynamic model of births in England and Wales. Popul. Stud. 41, 237.Google Scholar
Ermisch, J. (1987) Econometric Analysis of Birth Rate Dynamics. Discussion Paper, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London.Google Scholar
Hoem, J. & Hoem, B. (1987) The Impact of Female Employment on Second and Third Births in Modern Sweden. Stockholm Research Reports in Demography No. 36. Section of Demography, University of Stockholm.Google Scholar
Kalbfleisch, J. & Prentice, R. (1980) The Statistical Analysis of Failure Time Data. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar