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Having children and social networks
06/03/2014- News
Having children and social networks
The decision of having children or not depends on many factors. One of them clearly is the fertility behavior of other members of the population, particularly of social networks. Laura Bernardi (University of Lausanne, Switzerland) and Andreas Klaerner (University of Rostock) took a deeper look and therefore added a social network perspective on fertility and family research.
 
By reviewing the literature that addresses the extent to which social mechanisms, such as social learning, social pressure, social contagion, and social support, influence childbearing decisions, they found that all of these mechanisms influence the beliefs and norms individuals hold regarding childbearing.
Their perceptions of having children, and the context of opportunities and constraints in which childbearing choices are made. Accordingly fertility tempo and quantum strongly depends on the structure of social interaction. 
 
International women’s day 2014 – demographic findings about women and work
21/02/2014- press release
International women’s day 2014 – demographic findings about women and work
“Inspiring Change” is the motto of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8th. One of the biggest changes inspired and achieved by women over the last three decades is their presence in the labour market. Based on an OECD-average, the labour market participation rate for women aged 25 to 54 increased from 54% in 1980 to 71% in 2010. This increase is closely linked to demographic developments, so in preparation of the upcoming International Women’s Day 2014 Population Europe presents four demographic findings about women and work.
When it comes to birth rates, day care is more important than culture
26/02/2014- News
When it comes to birth rates, day care is more important than culture
The relatively low birth rates in Germany are not an expression of lifestyle choices or culture, but a consequence of insufficient public childcare, says a recent study by Sebastian Klüsner , Michaela Kreyenfeld, (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock), and Karel Neels (University of Antwerp, Belgium). According to the authors, their analysis is the first that can clearly differentiate between the impact of culture and policies on birth rates. This was possible by exploring the fertility behaviour of the German-speaking minority in eastern Belgium.

Though rooted in German culture, the inhabitants of the region Eupen-Malmedy actually have access to the well-developed Belgian childcare system. Several generations of women in this region have shown birth rates that are significantly higher than the German average. According to the researchers, this not only shows that good public childcare correlates with higher birth rates, but also that combining work and family is a crucial factor for more children in German speaking countries.

Read the press release (in German)

Read the full study “Family Policies and the Western European Fertility Divide: Insights from a Natural Experiment in Belgium”

 

New Measures of Age and Ageing
03/12/2014- Events
New Measures of Age and Ageing
The conference will be devoted to new ways of measuring ageing that more accurately represent the real world. These new metrics for population ageing will include factors such as life expectancy, health, disability, cognition and the ability to work—measures that explain how people live and what they need, not just the number of years they have lived. The economic implications of these new measures of age will be also discussed. Topics of interest include the following: - Life-table-based measures - Measures based on subjective life expectancy and survival probabilities - Measures based on self-reported physical conditions - Measures based on biomarkers - Measures based on cognitive functioning - Economic implications of the new measures - Country case studies The conference will be co-ordinated by Sergei Scherbov and Warren Sanderson. After scientific review, selected conference contributions will be published in the thematic issue of the Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2016.
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