Doctoral Dissertation Research: Relative Socio-Economic Resources and Family Outcomes

Hannah Brueckner Natalie Nitsche夫妇内部相对的社会经济资源与他们的生育结果之间有什么关系？这篇论文将考察性别平等，衡量收入、教育、工作时间和职业地位的相对水平，如何影响美国和德国已婚和同居夫妇向第一胎和第二胎的转变。到目前为止，关于夫妻层面的性别平等和(男性)伴侣的作用如何影响生育结果，人们知之甚少。最近的研究表明，夫妻内部的性别平等是当今许多发达社会生育率低的主要驱动力。虽然已经有研究探讨了家庭劳动的性别分工对生育转变的影响，但本文认为，家庭劳动的性别分工作为夫妻内部性别公平的指标是有问题的。这是因为研究表明，这本身是夫妇内部相对资源的结果，而且还忽视了家庭外包给专业服务的家务和护理工作的数量。因此，本文将利用1979年全国青年纵向调查(NLSY79)、全国家庭和家庭调查(NSFH)、德国社会经济小组(GSOEP)和德国家庭调查，使用事件历史和固定效应模型来理解相对资源、绝对资源以及夫妻之间的相互作用如何影响第一胎和第二胎的时间和可能性。这项研究将推进关于生育结果的理论，并将加深我们对夫妇内部的性别平等如何有助于第一次和第二次生育过渡的理解。此外，它还将有助于了解欧洲和美国作为替代生育率国家的低生育率制度之间总生育率差异背后的驱动力。低于替代生育率的生育率目前正困扰着欧洲政策制定者，并引发了人们对大部分发达国家社会福利制度可持续性的担忧。与此同时，妇女在教育和劳动力市场参与方面的进步达到了前所未有的水平，社会科学研究仍在了解妇女经济地位的变化如何导致生育率水平下降。这项研究将对这两个问题进行讨论，并为女性S的社会经济地位如何通过她的伴侣影响生育结果提供新的见解。通过对德国和美国的比较，人们将对夫妇层面的微观过程如何与福利国家的制度特征相互作用，以及如何影响第一胎和第二胎的可能性获得新的见解。这些结果可以为政策制定者提供信息，帮助他们制定既鼓励女性社会经济进步，又鼓励生育第一胎和第二胎的政策。

SES-1102645Hannah BruecknerNatalie Nitsche What is the relationship between relative socio-economic resources within couples and their fertility outcomes? This dissertation will examine how gender equity, measured as relative levels of income, education, working hours, and occupational status affects the transition to first and second births among married and cohabitating couples in the United States and Germany. To date, little is known about how gender equity on the couple-level and the role of the (male) partner are influencing fertility outcomes. Recent research suggests that gender equity within couples is a major driving force behind low fertility in many developed societies today. While there studies that have investigated the effect of the gendered division of household labor on birth transitions, this dissertation argues that the gendered division of household labor is problematic as an indicator of intra-couple gender equity. This is because research has shown that it is itself an outcome of relative resources within couples, and, furthermore, ignores the amount of domestic and care work that is outsourced by the household to professional services. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the German Family Survey, this dissertation will therefore use event history and fixed-effects models to understand how relative resources, absolute resources, and the interaction among the two in couples affect the timing and likelihood of a first and second birth. This study will advance theories on fertility outcomes and will augment our understanding of how gender equity within couples contributes to first and second birth transitions. It will furthermore contribute to the knowledge on the driving forces behind the divide in total fertility rates between the low fertility regimes in Europe and the US as a country with replacement fertility.Fertility rates below the replacement level are currently puzzling European policy makers and are raising concerns regarding the sustainability of social welfare systems in much of the developed world. At the same time, women's gains in education and labor market participation are at unprecedented levels, and social science research is still in the process of understanding how changes in women's economic status are contributing to declining fertility levels. This study will speak to both of these issues and provide new insights into how women?s socio-economic status is mediated by her partner in shaping fertility outcomes. In comparing Germany and the US, new insights will be gained in how micro processes on the couple level interact with institutional features of welfare states and affect the likelihood of the occurrence of first and second births. These results can inform policy makers with respect to forming policies that encourage both female socio-economic advancement and the occurrence of first and second births.