A study on policies and practices in selected countries that encourage childbirth. The case of Sweden.

Autor/in	Andersson, Gunnar
Institution	Max-Planck-Institut für Demografische Forschung
Titel	A study on policies and practices in selected countries that encourage childbirth. The case of Sweden. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Eine Untersuchung von politischen Maßnahmen zur Geburtenförderung. Das Beispiel Schweden.
Quelle	Rostock (2005), 19 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Reihe	MPIDR Working Paper. 2005-005
Beigaben	grafische Darstellungen 3
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Monographie; Graue Literatur
Schlagwörter	Generatives Verhalten; Familie; Geburtenentwicklung; Elternzeit; Familienpolitik; Kind; Geburtenhäufigkeit; Institutionentheorie; Steuer; Beruf; Tagesbetreuung; Schweden
Abstract	"Swedish family policies are not directly aimed at encouraging childbirth. Their main goal has rather been to support women's labour-force participation and to promote gender equality. The focus is to strengthen individuals so that they are able to pursue their family and occupational tracks without being too strongly dependent on other individuals. The reconciliation of family and working life of women has been facilitated by (i) individual taxation, which makes it less attractive for couples to pursue gendered segregation of work and care, (ii) an income-replacement based parental-leave system, which gives women incentives to establish themselves in the labour market before considering childbirth, and (iii) subsidized child-care, which allows women to return to work after parental leave. Fertility has fluctuated during recent decades but, as in the other Nordic countries with a similar welfare-state setup, it has stayed well above the European average. The Swedish context clearly is conducive to such 'highest-low' fertility. In this study, I show that institutional factors seem to be far more decisive than cultural ones in shaping childbearing behaviour, and demonstrate some specific impacts of family policies on childbearing dynamics." (author's abstract).
Erfasst von	GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Mannheim
Update	2006/3