Content and Objectives

Average numbers of children are often considered in demographic research. In addition, many theoretical approaches do not sufficiently differentiate the way in which the decision to have a (further) child depends on whether it iconcerns the first, second, third or fourth child. In this project, we assume that different explanations are required for the phenomena of childlessness and large families. The decision to have children is therefore investigated on a parity-specific basis.

One of the objectives of the project is to calculate the effects of changes in specific parities, i.e. of childlessness, of parents with one or two children and of large families, on the decline in the birth rate. For this purpose, a decomposition method was developed which quantifies the respective effects on changes in the birth rate within a certain time-span.

A further aim is the empirical analysis of the different explanatory factors which are crucial for the decision in favour of children depending on parity. Additionally, the existing theories of fertility are examined regarding their potential to explain these two developments and will be further developed with regard to parity-specific argumentations.