This paper reviews empirical studies that have examined the causal determinants of fertility behaviour. In particular, we compare the approaches adopted in the different disciplines to improve our understanding of how birth dynamics are influenced by changes in female employment and changes in...

Couples who have children are increasingly likely to have lived together without being married at some point in their relationship. Some couples begin their unions with cohabitation and marry before first conception, some marry during pregnancy or directly after the first birth, while others...

This article investigates whether the increase in the labour force participation of mothers in western Germany has been accompanied by growing social inequalities in maternal employment. The focus is on education-related differences in full-time, part-time and marginal employment, and, in...

Die unmittelbaren Jahre nach der Wiedervereinigung waren von einem beispiellosen Rückgang der jährlichen Geburtenziffern in Ostdeutschland geprägt. Die Fertilitätsrate brach ein und erreichte im Jahr 1992 ihren historischen Tiefstand von nur 0,8 Kindern pro Frau. Nach diesem Einbruch sind...