Explaining attitudes towards demographic behaviour

Publication type

Journal Article

Authors

Publication date

April 15, 2013

Summary:

In recent decades, Europe has witnessed dramatic changes in demographic behaviour
manifested by postponement of childbearing, cohabitation replacing marriage together with increased
divorce rates. It is often argued, especially in the demography literature, that these new behaviours are
driven by fundamental changes in attitudes and value orientations. This article uses data from the third
round of the European Social Survey to assess the drivers behind attitudes to demographic behaviour.
There are large differences across countries, and we find that economic development is indeed a strong
predictor for modern attitudes. However, attitudes towards demographic behaviour correlate with
many other country-specific characteristics, some challenging popular wisdom in the demography
literature.

Published in

European Sociological Review

Volume and page numbers

Volume: 29 , p.316 -333

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcr069

ISSN

2667215

Subjects

Notes

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