Family Policy and Fertility : Fathers' and Mothers' Use  of Parental Leave and Continued Childbearing in Norway and Sweden

• In the Nordic countries gender equality is an explicit policy goal. For example, Norway and Sweden both offer paid parental leave for approximately one year following childbirth with earnings-related benefits and with certain periods reserved exclusively for the father. In this study, we examine the relationship between fathers’ and mothers’ use of parental leave and continued childbearing among couples in Norway and Sweden. The two countries offer largely similar family policies, but differ concerning family policy context. While Sweden has a consistent policy concerning gender relations, Norway has more ambiguous family policies giving incentives both to gender equality and childrearing at home. Our study shows that father’s parental leave use is positively associated with continued childbearing in both Norway and Sweden, for both one- and two-child couples. The association is stronger in Norway. For two-child families a long leave of the mother is positively associated with third birth. It seems as the two-child family is highly compatible with the combination of work and family life, but that in families who choose to have more children the mother often seems to have a weaker work orientation.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Family Policy

Fertility

Gender Equality

Norway

Parental Leave

Sweden

Demography

Demografi

Demography

demografi

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)