title: The educational gradient of childbearing within cohabitation in Europe.
abstract: Nearly every European Country has experienced some increase in nonmarital childbearing, largely due to increasing births within cohabitation. Relatively few studies in Europe, however, investigate the educational gradient of childbearing within cohabitation or how it changed over time. Using retrospective union and fertility histories, we employ competing risk hazard models to examine the educational gradient of childbearing in cohabitation in eight countries across europe. In all countries studied, birth risks within cohabitation demonstrated a negative educational gradient. When directly comparing cohabiting fertility with marital fertility, the negative educational gradient persists in all countries except Italy, although differences were not significant in Austria, France, and West Germany. To explain these findings, we present an alternative explanation for the increase in childbearing within cohabitation that goes beyond the explanation of the Second Demographic Transition and provides a new interpretation of the underlying mechanisms that may influence childbearing within cohabitation.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Brienna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perelli-Harris
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sigle-Rushton
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kreyenfeld
authors.forename: Trude
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lappegård
authors.forename: Renske
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Keizer
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Berghammer
mesh_terms: D003710:Demography / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005191:Family Characteristics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history; D005260:Female; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D007229:Infant Welfare / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D036801:Parturition / Q000208:ethnology / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000266:history; D012847:Single Person / Q000193:education / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D020954:Single-Parent Family / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D012922:Social Change / Q000266:history; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors / Q000266:history