Pop digests

PopDigests

PopDigests are short, comprehensive summaries of research results with a link to the original publication (if accessible online). This allows population experts and other interested audiences to be able to easily access information to the latest research results. 

Once a Barrier to Fertility, Women’s Employment Is Now Key to It.

Once a Barrier to Fertility, Women’s Employment Is Now Key to It.

Just not for everyone.
The question of how work influences women’s fertility has been high on the demographic research agenda for decades. For a long time, the assumption was that higher labour force participation among women was negatively associated with fertility. In recent years, however, more and more researchers argue that this may no longer be true. 

The question of how work influences women’s fertility has been high on the demographic research agenda for decades. For a long time, the assumption was that higher labour force participation among women was negatively associated with fertility. In recent years, however, more and more researchers argue that this may no longer be true. The argument goes that the expansion of reconciliation policies and changing gender roles have decreased the opportunity costs associated with childbearing, which leads to a positive relationship between female employment and fertility in dual-earner societies. Being out of the labour force may be perceived as a cheap time for childbearing, but lacking employment in a dual-earner society can yield feelings of nonfulfillment, prevent leaving the parental home, postpone union formation, and hamper the accumulation of the resources necessary to face the costs of family formation.

Even Post-Brexit, EU Migrants Are Likely to Stay in the UK

Even Post-Brexit, EU Migrants Are Likely to Stay in the UK

With the Brexit underway, EU migrants in the UK will soon have to make their own decisions about whether to leave or remain in the country under an alternative legal status to the one they previously held. In an environment of uncertainty, with several concrete and yet uncharted options, EU nationals are largely choosing the latter. Curiously, it’s the uncertainty surrounding their future rights to stay which leads them to having more concrete plans.
Working, Studying and Starting a Family

Working, Studying and Starting a Family

The impact of working while participating in education on the transition to motherhood in Hungary
Over the course of the past few decades, women’s enrolment in post-secondary educational programmes has dramatically increased. The fertility implications have been well documented, but the studies generally assume that a student is only a student. Zsolt Spéder and Tamás Bartus sought to understand the impact double-status (studying part-time and working part-time at the same time) may have on the transition to motherhood. It turns out, their interest was well founded. They found the fertility implications of double-status women to be notable.
Relative Inequalities in Mortality Rise Across Europe

Relative Inequalities in Mortality Rise Across Europe

But they do so as absolute all-cause mortality falls
To better understand increasing inequalities in mortality trends, Rianne de Gelder and colleagues took a long-term approach. Using data from 1970-2010, they explored both absolute and relative inequalities in mortality based on level of education and occupational class. They did so by comparing six countries: England and Wales, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy (Turin) and Norway.
Equality at Home is a Question of Her Career

Equality at Home is a Question of Her Career

Not his
Of the many causes of gender inequality today, perhaps none appears more innocuous than housework. Research has shown nothing could be further from the truth. Traditional division of labour at home systematically discourage women from pursuing professional careers in favour of work they can easily combine with in-home duties. As time goes on, the arrangement reinforces itself. Recent years have seen more equitable arrangements spread across Europe, but a new study by Susanne Fahlén confirms that this tends to be despite men, not because of them.
Retirement in Germany: Life, love and bridge employment

Retirement in Germany: Life, love and bridge employment

Men and women perceive differently the consequences of work after retirement on relationships
With more time than ever to themselves, retirees’ relationships with their partners can certainly be expected to evolve. Hopefully, to improve. But as German society ages, more and more retirees are engaging in bridge employment, paid work between the retirement from full-time work and complete withdrawal from the labour market. The consequences of this trend on relationships after retirement are still unclear, but a new study from Andreas Mergenthaler and Volker Cihlar shows that, as ever, there is a gender dimension to the question.
PD_The road less (and less) travelled

The Road Less (and Less) Travelled

When deciding to move, men’s careers are still prioritised, but dual-income households are less likely to go
The decision to pick up and move is a complex one. Migrating involves both direct costs — the move itself — and indirect, opportunity costs, or the foregone benefits of staying put. Moving a household exacerbates this complexity. A new study by Sergi Vidal, Francisco Perales, Philipp M. Lersch and Maria Brandén confirms that this is especially true for dual-earner couples, couples in which both members work outside the home. In principle, this means expanding female labour force participation and shrinking earnings gaps could restrict family moves in the future.
The Public Health Case for Unemployment Benefits

The Public Health Case for Unemployment Benefits

Better health is not often the first consequence of unemployment benefits that comes to mind. New research suggests it shouldn’t be the last, though. In a recent study, Jonathan Cylus and Mauricio Avendano find that those out of work who received unemployment benefits were healthier than comparable unemployed people who did not. Good health is a fundamental policy goal everywhere, so, like any policy area, the health dimension of unemployment benefits deserves some attention.