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Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2017Special issue on Education and fertility in low-fertility settings
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Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400 https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: verlag@oeaw.ac.at |
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DATUM, UNTERSCHRIFT / DATE, SIGNATURE
BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT, WIEN (IBAN AT04 1100 0006 2280 0100, BIC BKAUATWW), DEUTSCHE BANK MÜNCHEN (IBAN DE16 7007 0024 0238 8270 00, BIC DEUTDEDBMUC)
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Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2017, pp. 143-179, 2018/06/18
Special issue on Education and fertility in low-fertility settings
A key demographic trend of the past decades has been the increasing share of first births occurring outside marriage. In analysing the factors associated with this trend, scholars have tended to focus on the characteristics of only one of the parents, typically the mother. This study examines the pathways to parenthood from a couple’s perspective, focusing on the role of educational pairings; i.e. the combination of his and her education. Using a multistate approach, we examine the connection between educational pairings and the occurrence of the first birth inside or outside marriage for 12 European countries. We find that the presence of at least one highly educated partner lowers the likelihood of a non-marital first birth. Strikingly, it does not matter whether it is he or she who has the highest level of education.