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This study analyzes empirically the extent to which women’s employment affects the duration of first birth intervals among married women in Taiwan during the rapidly growing period. By employing the data from the 1989 Taiwan Women and Family Survey, our estimation results suggest that women’s employment strongly affects the duration of first birth intervals, and that various aspects of women’s employment affect first birth intervals differently. In terms of the number of working hours, women who work more than 30 hours per week tend to have an earlier first birth. On the other hand, work experience, as indicated by women’s labor force participation surrounding the first birth as well as their job tenure, is found to positively affect women’s first birth intervals. When the model is estimated on the basis of age cohorts, these implications remain the same. Given that the impact of labor market experiences and working hours act in opposite directions on the first birth interval, their effects may offset each other. Therefore, our findings provide an explanation to the earlier research result, which indicates that female employment is only weakly related to fertility behavior in Taiwan.

Since 1974, Japan's total fertility rate has been constantly below replacement level. The purpose of this paper is to focus on Japan's low fertility issue and countermeasures that were adopted, in order to explore the reasons why the countermeasures were unable to solve the problem?

The paper analyzes both the historical changes and the current situation of Japan's countermeasures. It also focuses on how in Japan marriage behavior and couples' fertility behavior changed during the implementation of the countermeasures from both objective and subjective perspectives. Based on results of the analysis, the paper explores the inherent problems regarding the countermeasures.

The paper shows that there is no sign that Japan's low fertility could be overcome, and puts forward three problems regarding the countermeasures. The paper suggests paying greater attention to the contradictions in the current policies and to go beyond the field of family policy and population policy to consider the following questions from a more macro perspective: (1) how to make fertility more desirable and meaningful and (2) how to encourage the related social systems to promote people's spontaneity both in marriage and childbearing.

The paper uses the latest data and focuses on analyzing the countermeasures from a more macro perspective rather than discussing specific problems of the countermeasures. Based on both objective data and subjective views and, given the characteristics of Japanese society, the paper explores in depth the problems regarding the countermeasures. By improving empirical knowledge, the paper seeks to contribute more generally to low fertility countries' “fertility revival”.

Off-farm employment is an important factor associated with fertility transition in many developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of female off-farm employment on their fertility desire in rural China.

Based on the data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey, the authors adopt an instrumental variable approach to address the endogeneity issue. Desired number of children and desire for a second child are used to measure fertility desire.

The results show that off-farm employment participation significantly reduces women's desired number of children and the likelihood of their desire for a second child. Moreover, off-farm employment reduces women's fertility desire mainly through pathways including the weakening of son preference and a decrease in job autonomy, rather than the changes in leisure hours. Further evidence suggests that social health insurance plays an important role in moderating the adverse relationship between off-farm employment and the desire for a second child. The fertility-reducing effects are more pronounced among younger women, among those participating in off-farm wage employment and among families with only wives' participation in the off-farm labor market.

This paper contributes to the existing research by investigating the causal impact of off-farm employment on fertility desire in a rural developing context and the possible underlying mechanisms responsible for this relationship. This study provides important insights on this topic in developing countries and may have important implications for theory and practice.

Over the last two to three decades, European welfare states have witnessed fundamental changes in both family and labour market structures with many more women being in the paid labour market. While this was seen to address previous problems linked to women’s disadvantage, it has also been argued to give rise to new risk and social inequalities, including falling fertility rates and increasing childlessness. Research has identified the lack of affordable childcare as a key factor in childlessness leading to a strong EU focus on early childhood education and care. Since 2000, the EU has played a more proactive role in policies and initiatives aimed to address decreasing fertility rates with greater pressure for convergence among member states. However, there has continued to be a large degree of variation between countries. This chapter thus examines the case of Germany which has one of the highest levels of childlessness in Europe. It focuses on the intersection between childlessness and childcare provision in Germany and analyses the existing childcare arrangements with a view to understand how they influence childlessness. Particular attention is given to the role of the German government as the main actor in the process to explore ideology-related explanations of German policy-makers which led to contradictory policies. Relying on an extensive review of the related literature and policy documents, together with the personal interviews with policy-makers, academics and women’s organisations, this chapter concludes that the relatively conservative outlook of the German government which prioritises the motherhood and caregiver role, and the dominance of the corporate welfare system, has limited developments to improve access to childcare resulting in ‘a culture of childlessness’ in Germany (Kreyenfeld & Konietzka, 2017).

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between levels of socioeconomic development and subsequent trends in fertility among the states of India. Based on the Theory of Demographic Transition, this study tests the hypothesis: The higher the level of socioeconomic development in 1993, the greater the subsequent percentage of decrease in fertility rates between 1999 and 2006 among the states of India.

The study utilizes Pearson's r correlation and linear multiple regression analysis on three National Family Health Surveys data to predict two measures of decline in fertility from socioeconomic indicators.

The findings support the theory of demographic transition in large measure revealing that the overall level of socioeconomic development is directly related to subsequent declines in fertility among the states of India.

Correlations between state‐wide indicators are based on sample data of which margins of error and response rates are unknown.

The study suggests that the empowerment of women through education, employment opportunities and exposure to the mass media reduces fertility.

Population control in India is extremely important for the future welfare of all of its society members.

Although previous research has shown cross‐sectional correlations between fertility and socioeconomic development, this is the first time correlations between socioeconomic development and subsequent trends in fertility have been measured. This is methodologically important because Demographic Transition Theory hypothesizes a lag between modernization and fertility decline. Rather than correlating level of economic development with current fertility, this study correlates level of economic development with the subsequent dynamic changes in fertility.

Facing a high birth rate, a falling mortality rate, and inconsistent policies on family planning from the 1950s to the early 1970s, the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched its widely known one‐child policy in 1979. The intention was to restrict population growth by reducing fertility through family planning and thereby to conserve the nation's resources to advance economic development. The effectiveness of the one‐child policy has varied greatly because policy regulations are differentially carried out by officials of provinces, municipalities, counties, communes, and minority regions. Generally speaking, the state policy has had greater acceptance in urban areas but is far less rigidly enforced by local officials in rural areas and for certain national minorities, which can have a second child under certain circumstances (Chow and Chen, 1994).

Social mobility research starts conventionally from the children's generation and looks at group-specific individual life chances. However, an immediate interpretation of these results as measures of social reproduction is often misleading. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of a related but alternative approach which looks at intergenerational links from the perspective of the parents’ generation. It asks about the consequences of social inequality in this generation for the following generation(s). This includes questions of how the parental origin context is formed, whether there are any children at all and when they were born as well as the aspect of these children's relative chances of attaining particular social positions. As an empirical example, the paper describes patterns of educational reproduction in (West) Germany during the mid- and late 20th century. Simulations allow assessing the relative importance of various partial processes of social reproduction. A large proportion of the observed levels of educational reproduction can be attributed to family-related processes such as union formation. Drawing together analyses from various areas, the paper combines questions of social mobility research with a demographic perspective and broadens the analytical basis of inequality research for systematic comparative research.

Purpose – This chapter explores the relationship between religious affiliation and wealth ownership focusing on generational differences.

Methodology – I use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the Health and Retirement Study to create descriptive statistics and regression analyses of the association between religious affiliation in childhood and adulthood for people of two cohorts.

Findings – This chapter shows that there are important patterns by religious affiliation in total net worth, real assets, and asset allocation across generations. My findings are consistent with past work on religion and wealth ownership showing that Jews, mainline Protestants, and white Catholics tend to have higher total wealth than other groups. In addition, I find that black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, and conservative Protestants tend to have relatively low wealth, consistent with research on religion, race/ethnicity, and wealth. My findings also show that these patterns are relatively robust across generations.

Research implications – The findings are relevant to research on inequality, wealth accumulation and saving, life course processes, and the effect of religion on stratification outcomes.

Originality/Value – This research shows how religious affiliation and wealth are related across generations.

We must begin, of course, by understanding the strengths and limitations of our own approach. If we are to make progress, it is necessary to examine carefully the institutionalist position, to view it not just as a battering ram with which to inflict damage on currently prevailing orthodoxies, but to identify the strengths and weaknesses in its current incarnations. In so doing, we must be critical as well as constructive.