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

夫妇之间的相对社会经济资源和他们的生育结果之间的关系是什么？本文将研究性别平等（以收入、教育、工作时间和职业地位的相对水平来衡量）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过渡。迄今为止，人们对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知之甚少。最近的研究表明，夫妻之间的性别平等是当今许多发达社会低生育率背后的主要驱动力。虽然已有研究调查了家庭劳动的性别分工对生育过渡的影响，但本文认为，作为夫妻内部性别平等的指标，家庭劳动的性别分工存在问题。这是因为研究表明，它本身就是夫妻之间相对资源的结果，而且，它忽略了家庭外包给专业服务机构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了解相对资源、绝对资源以及夫妇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。这项研究将推进生育结果的理论，并将增强我们对夫妻性别平等如何促进第一胎和第二胎过渡的理解。它将进一步有助于了解欧洲低生育率制度和美国作为一个具有替代生育率的国家之间总生育率鸿沟背后的驱动力。低于更替水平的生育率目前令欧洲决策者感到困惑，并引发了人们对许多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下降。这项研究将讨论这两个问题，并为女性如何？妇女的社会经济地位是由其伴侣决定生育结果的。通过对德国和美国的比较，我们将获得新的见解，了解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，并影响第一胎和第二胎发生的可能性。这些结果可以为决策者提供信息，以便制定鼓励女性社会经济地位提高和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.