Citation

Kohler, Hans-Peter & Kohler, Iliana (2002). Fertility decline in Russia in the early and mid 1990s: the role of economic uncertainty and labour market crises. European Journal of Population/Revue Europeenne de Demographie, 18(3), 233-262.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the fertility decline in Russia during the early & mid-1990s from both a macro- & micro-perspective, & presents a striking divergence between these two empirical viewpoints. While the former suggests that the fertility decline after 1989 is associated with the economic hardship accompanying the transition to a market economy, the micro-evidence using the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey is to the contrary. There is no negative association between labor market uncertainty or a labor market crisis & fertility, & frequently there is even a positive association. That is, women or couples who are themselves affected by labor market crises often had a higher probability of having another child in the period 1994-1996 than women/couples who were less affected by such crises. The lack of a negative association, & the presence of a positive association in many instances, is surprising from the standpoint of economic fertility theory. It is also contrary to many explanatory theories about the recent fertility decline in Central & Eastern European countries that are built on a more or less direct connection between the labor market or an economic crisis & low fertility. 6 Tables, 2 Figures, 55 References. Adapted from the source document.

URL

http:/dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1019701812709

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2002

Journal Title

European Journal of Population/Revue Europeenne de Demographie

Author(s)

Kohler, Hans-Peter
Kohler, Iliana