Journal Article
Does Family Policy Affect Fertility? Lessons from Sweden
Anders Björklund
Journal of Population Economics
Vol. 19, No. 1 (Feb., 2006), pp. 3-24
Published
by: Springer
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20007995
Page Count: 22
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Topics: Fertility rates, Child care, Labor markets, Parental leave, Female fertility, Educational attainment, Economic fluctuations, Mothers, Economic policy
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Abstract
From the mid-1960s to around 1980, Sweden extended its family policies that provide financial and in-kind support to families with children very quickly. The benefits were closely tied to previous work experience. Thus, women born in the 1950s faced markedly different incentives when making fertility choices compared to women born only 15-20 years earlier. This paper examines the evolution of completed fertility patterns for Swedish women born in 1925-1958 and makes comparisons to women in neighbouring countries where the policies were not extended as much as in Sweden. The results suggest that the extension of the policy raised the level of fertility, shortened the spacing of births, and induced fluctuations in the period fertility rates, but it did not change the negative relationship between women's educational level and completed fertility.
Journal of Population Economics
© 2006 Springer