Pronatalist Policies and European Attitudes Towards Childbearing

• In Event: 038 - Section on Sociology of Population Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 02. Predictors of Fertility in Low Fertility Contexts

Abstract

Pronatalist population policies -- broadly defined as any policy aiming to encourage family creation and growth -- have been a staple of the European welfare state for decades, though their effectiveness is questionable. This paper uses a social structure and personality approach to examine the extent to which pronatalist policies have influenced individuals' beliefs that having children is a duty to society. Using micro-level data from the European Values Study and macro-contextual data from the United Nations and World Bank, this paper examines the likelihood an individual will approve of this statement in multi-level ordered logit models. This paper finds that the structure of the respondent's society -- including fertility rates, government views and policies towards population growth, and availability of certain benefits for mothers -- does influence the individual's belief in fertility as a social good.

Author

• Cara M Davies, Indiana University