Job Insecurity and the Timing of Parenthood: A Comparison between Eastern and Western Germany
Details
Serval ID
serval:BIB_376A3D9B0333
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Job Insecurity and the Timing of Parenthood: A Comparison between Eastern and Western Germany
Journal
European Journal of Population
ISSN
0168-6577
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2008
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
24
Number
3
Pages
287-313
Language
english
Abstract
This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the economic deter- minants of fertility behavior by addressing the role of job insecurity in couples' intentions concerning parenthood and its timing. It starts from the hypothesis that cultural values moderate individuals' reactions to job insecurity and the way it is related to family formation. With a systematic thematic content analysis of a set of semi-structured interviews with childless men and women around the age of 30 in eastern and western Germany, we are able to show that there are substantial dif- ferences in the consequences of job insecurity on intentions to have a first child. In western Germany, a relatively secure job career is expected to precede family formation, and this sequence of transitions is rather rigid, whereas in eastern Germany job security and family formation are thought of and practiced as parallel investments. We suggest that the lack of convergence in family formation patterns between eastern and western Germany after the unification of the country in 1990 is partially related to different attitudes toward job insecurity in the two contexts.
Keywords
Family formation, Fertility, Germany, Job insecurity, Qualitative interviews, Social change
Open Access
Yes
Create date
19/05/2011 22:17
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:25