Family Formation in Sweden around the Turn of the New Millennium
Abstract: This thesis contains four empirical studies that examine patterns in family formation in Sweden around the turn of the new millennium. This is an interesting context for the topic because Sweden is often seen as a forerunner in family-demographic change as well as in gender equality and value developments. The empirical studies provide insight into the state of affairs of these developments. In all four studies, event-history analyses are applied to Swedish population register data. Two of the studies focus on first-marriage formation, while the other two focus on first childbearing. Study I reveals that starting from 1998 there was an increase in marriage-formation rates, which was not due to compositional changes in the population. This is in contrast to the common image of Sweden in the forefront of contemporary marriage decline. Study II shows that marriage rates for men and women display clear peaks at exact ages 30, 40, 50, and 60 as well as in the year 2000. The peaks demonstrate that in Sweden, marriage formation is not fully determined by conventional structural factors or individual characteristics. It illustrates that the choice to marry may be taken quite lightly in a context where differences between cohabitation and marriage are relatively small. Study III shows that the transition to parenthood varies across occupational groups. For both men and women, birth rates are positively related to own earnings. Birth rates are also high for those who work in a caring or teaching oriented occupation or in a gender-typical occupation. The findings may reflect differences in the possibility to take on parental responsibilities and they demonstrate the role of gendered behavior. Self-selection processes may also be important. In Study IV, the transition to parenthood for men and women is examined in relation to the sex composition of the workplace. Birth rates increase with the share of employees of the individual’s own sex, net of factors such as own earnings, public or private sector employment, occupation, and industry. This shows the importance of gender and gender structures in the work environment for childbearing behavior.
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