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Gender differences in the gap between desired and observed fertility in Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2025

Nuria Legazpe Open the ORCID record for Nuria Legazpe [Opens in a new window]  and
María A. Davia
Nuria Legazpe*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha – Campus de Cuenca, Cuenca, Spain
María A. Davia
Affiliation:
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha – Campus de Albacete, Albacete, Spain
*
Corresponding author: Nuria Legazpe Moraleja; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze gender differences in the determinants of the gap between actual and desired fertility in Spain. To this aim, we exploit the 2018 Fertility Survey (EF2018) from the Spanish Statistical Institute (INE). A binary probit model shows that gender differences in the risk (and its pattern) of not reaching the desired family size are generally more pronounced amongst parents than amongst childless adults. For women, a high level of education, a potentially unstable employment situation (as an employee in the private sector) and not living with a partner increases the risk of not having the desired number of children. For men, variables related to income instability or low monthly income cause a more pronounced differential between desired and actual parenthood than amongst women, while neither educational level nor partner status – amongst those who are already fathers – significantly influences their probability of not reaching the desired number of children.

Keywords

desired fertilityactual fertilityhuman capitalfamily arrangementsJ13J16J22
Type
Research Paper
Information
Journal of Demographic Economics , First View , pp. 1 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with Université catholique de Louvain

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