Table Of ContentDimiter Philipov · Aart C. Liefbroer
Jane E. Klobas Editors
Reproductive
Decision-
Making in a
Macro-Micro
Perspective
Reproductive Decision-Making
in a Macro-Micro Perspective
Dimiter Philipov (cid:129) Aart C. Liefbroer
Jane E. Klobas
Editors
Reproductive
Decision-M aking in a
Macro-Micro Perspective
Editors
Dimiter Philipov Aart C. Liefbroer
Vienna Institute of Demography Netherlands Interdisciplinary
Vienna , Austria Demographic Institute
The Hague , The Netherlands
Wittgenstein Centre for Demography
and Global Human Capital University Medical Center Groningen
(OEAW-VID, IIASA, WU) Groningen , The Netherlands
Vienna , Austria
VU University Amsterdam
Amsterdam , The Netherlands
Jane E. Klobas
Dondena Centre for Research on Social
Dynamics, Centre for Arts, Science
and Knowledge
Bocconi University
Milan , Italy
Murdoch University
Perth , Australia
ISBN 978-94-017-9400-8 ISBN 978-94-017-9401-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9401-5
Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014953826
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
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Pref ace
Persistent low fertility levels in Europe have triggered an interest in fertility intentions
among population scholars. Knowing why intentions to have a child remain unrealised
can facilitate our understanding of the reasons for low fertility and help to draw
relevant policy implications.
These issues were addressed in the research project “Reproductive decision- making
in a macro–micro perspective” (REPRO) run under the European Commission’s 7th
Framework Programme. REPRO was designed to update existing knowledge and to
generate new scientifi c knowledge about the factors that drive changes in birth rates
and infl uence the reproductive decision-making of contemporary Europeans. The
three-year project was completed in 2011.
The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was applied to understand the reproduc-
tive decision-making of individuals. While this micro-level approach constituted
an important backbone of REPRO, it was also embedded in the macro-level set-
tings in which individuals formulate their personal decisions. REPRO comprised
fi ve substantive work-packages, each taking a different macro-, micro- or macro–
micro perspective of reproductive decision making. This structure is refl ected in
Chaps. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , and 6 of this book. Chapter 1 introduces the fertility context into
which REPRO was born and the macro–micro and TPB frameworks that underpin
the project and the book. The last chapter summarizes key fi ndings from research
undertaken within REPRO, and by members of the REPRO team and their col-
leagues, since the project’s conclusion glances at the road ahead and considers
implications of the new theory, methods and fi ndings from the REPRO project for
future research and policy. The authors are members of the REPRO team.
The book is written for a wide range of readers. It can be used by graduate stu-
dents who want to get acquainted with the formation of reproductive decision-
making, by scientists interested in this topic and by policy advisors. The authors
believe that the fi ndings obtained in the REPRO project and reported in this book
have opened up new ways of obtaining profound knowledge about reproductive
decision-making and suggest new ways of considering the effects of policy on fertil-
ity decisions. We trust that readers fi nd it valuable.
v
vi Preface
This publication would not have been possible without European Commission
funding. The REPRO project was funded by the European Commission within the
Seventh Framework Programme under the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities
theme (Grant Agreement: SSH-CT-2008-217173). As editors, we would like to
thank Sylvia Trnka and Barbara Simunics at the Vienna Institute of Demography for
their secretarial assistance. We are also thankful for an anonymous reviewer for
his or her insightful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Finally, we
would like to thank Evelien Bakker and Bernadette Deelen-Mans at Springer
Publishing for their patience and enduring support.
Vienna , Austria Dimiter Philipov
The Hague , The Netherlands Aart C. Liefbroer
Milano , Italy Jane E. Klobas
July 2014
Contents
1 Reproductive Decision-Making in a Macro- Micro
Perspective: A Conceptual Framework .................................................. 1
Aart C. Liefbroer , Jane E. Klobas , Dimiter Philipov , and Icek Ajzen
2 Institutional Settings of Childbearing ..................................................... 17
Olivier Thévenon
3 Making the Decision to Have a Child ...................................................... 41
Jane E. Klobas and Icek Ajzen
4 Influences on the Link Between Fertility Intentions
and Behavioural Outcomes ...................................................................... 79
Zsolt Spéder and Balázs Kapitány
5 Uncertain, Changing and Situated Fertility Intentions ......................... 113
Laura Bernardi , Monika Mynarska , and Clémentine Rossier
6 Fertility-Related Norms Across Europe: A Multi-level Analysis .......... 141
Aart C. Liefbroer , Eva-Maria Merz , and Maria Rita Testa
7 Reproductive Decision-Making: A Milestone,
and the Road Ahead .................................................................................. 165
Dimiter Philipov , Jane E. Klobas , and Aart C. Liefbroer
vii
Chapter 1
Reproductive Decision-Making in a Macro-
Micro Perspective: A Conceptual Framework
Aart C. Liefbroer , Jane E. Klobas , Dimiter Philipov , and Icek Ajzen
1.1 Introduction
Europe has been characterized by below-replacement fertility for several decades
now (Frejka and Sobotka 2 008 ). Moreover, when comparing the total fertility
rate (TFR, measured fertility levels) with the ideal or intended number of children
(i.e., desired fertility), it is evident that, at the macro-level, people want to have
more children than they actually do (Van de Kaa 2001 ; Goldstein et al. 2003 ).
The difference is known as the ‘fertility gap’ (Philipov 2 009) . A large fertility gap
is interpreted as the result of obstacles people face when trying to realise their
desired family size.
A. C. Liefbroer (*)
Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute , The Hague , The Netherlands
University Medical Center Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands
VU University Amsterdam , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
e-mail: [email protected]
J. E. Klobas
Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics, Centre for Arts,
Science and Knowledge , Bocconi University , Milan , Italy
Murdoch University , Perth , WA , Australia
e-mail: [email protected]
D. Philipov
Vienna Institute of Demography , Vienna , Austria
Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (OEAW-VID, IIASA, WU) ,
Vienna , Austria
e-mail: [email protected]
I. Ajzen
University of Massachusetts , Amherst , MA , USA
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015 1
D. Philipov et al. (eds.), Reproductive Decision-Making
in a Macro-Micro Perspective, DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9401-5_1
2 A.C. Liefbroer et al.
T his edited volume presents results from an international collaborative project,
funded by the EU’s 7th Framework Programme, which was designed to advance our
understanding of the factors that infl uence the ‘fertility gap’ in European societies.
The name of the project, ‘Reproductive decision-making in a macro-micro perspec-
tive’ (REPRO), succinctly summarizes what the project is about; it is about under-
standing how individuals make their micro-level fertility decisions within the
opportunities and constraints provided by the macro-level structures in which they
are embedded. In designing the REPRO project, the idea of the ‘fertility gap’ pro-
vided a clear focus to the conceptualization of the key issues to be tackled. Given
that the ‘gap’ results from a discrepancy between fertility intentions and behaviours,
the focus of the project was both on how individuals form their fertility intentions
and on how and to what extent these intentions are realized. In addition, both
individual-l evel and societal-level factors that infl uence the formation of intentions
and their realization were studied.
T he key aim of the results of the REPRO project presented in this volume is to
provide a general sense of the theoretical and methodological orientation of the
project, as well as a fresh and interesting sample of its substantive outcomes. It does
not provide an exhaustive overview of the results of the project, as many empirical
studies conducted within the REPRO project have been published in leading inter-
national journals in the fi eld, and their content will only be alluded to in this volume.
The volume also does not provide an exhaustive discussion of the theoretical under-
pinnings of the REPRO project (cf. Morgan et al. 2 011) for a discussion of the
Theory of Planned Behavior1 or TPB, the theoretical approach guiding the REPRO
project, and how it relates to other theoretical perspectives). Rather, the focus of the
volume is on outlining the theoretical approach guiding our study, and highlighting
interesting results about the different key components of our model.
T his introductory chapter lays the theoretical and methodological foundation for
the more substantive analyses presented in the rest of the volume. First, to set the
stage, a brief overview of the main fertility trends in Europe in the past decades will
be provided. Next, the general theoretical framework that guided research within the
REPRO project is introduced. It starts from the contention that to understand macro-
level trends in fertility, a thorough knowledge of micro-processes and how the micro-
and macro-levels are interrelated, is a necessity. The following sections present the
macro-level model, the micro-level model, and their interrelatedness, in more detail.
The chapter concludes with a brief overview of the content of the rest of the volume.
1.2 The Background: Low Fertility in Europe
T he 1960s marked the start of fertility decline in Europe. Fertility fi rst dropped in
the Scandinavian countries and soon after in Austria and Germany. It took until the
1980s for the decrease to be noted in southern Europe. The next decisive milestone
1 Throughout this book, we retain the original US spelling of behavior in the name of the Theory of
Planned Behavior, but use the English language spelling of behaviour elsewhere.
