Karen Haandrikman

Effects of the fertility transition on birth seasonality in the netherlands

Synchronous with the decline in fertility that took place in the post-war period in the Netherlands, patterns of birth seasonality changed as well. In this paper seasonal fluctuations in fertility in the Netherlands are examined using population register data for the period 1952 to 2005. The peak in births has changed from spring to summer and subsequently to August/September, thereby shifting from the European to the American pattern. The seasonal shift can be attributed to parity-specific changes. Before the transition, birth seasonality did not differ much between the different parities. In the transition period from higher to low fertility, differences between parities increased which persist up to today. At present, the overall seasonality pattern is determined by first births. Moreover, birth seasonality varies by maternal age. The findings stimulate the discussion on the role of planning as a cause of birth seasonality.

Waar ontmoeten partners elkaar? - Sociale differentiatie in ontmoetingsplaatsen

Meeting places form a vital link in the process of partner choice, in which preferences, norms and opportunities to meet partners play a role. Using the 2003 Fertility and Family Survey (Onderzoek Gezinsvorming) for the Netherlands, we find that the partner market is segmented by relationship career, education, age, religion and geography. Public places are popular among youngsters, the lower educated, Catholics and the rural population. So-called ‘closed’ places are meeting places for the higher educated, partners in the repartnering market, young adults, the re-reformed and city dwellers. Those meeting in private settings tend to have a lower level of education, to be Muslim, and to have grown up abroad.

Coping with time - Using a local time-path calendar to reduce heaping in durations

Reproductive health surveys often face difficulties in measuring age and durations. Heaping is the phenomenon that certain dates, ages or durations are over-or underrepresented. Following the calendar method used in several Demographic and Health Surveys, the current research proposes the use of a local timepath calendar, based on time perceptions of women in South India. The objective of the calendar is to reduce heaping in the durations of postpartum amenorrhoea, breastfeeding, postpartum abstinence, and contraceptive use. The interviewer takes the respondent back in time using the local calendar; the memory of respondents is triggered by relating events to Indian festivals and other landmarks in the lives of people, enabling them to reply in their own time perspective. The method was tested in 2000 in a survey in South India; the findings indicate significantly less duration heaping.

Who Moves to Whom? Gender Differences in the Distance Moved to a Shared Residence

Although the migration of couples and families is well examined, the migration that occurs at the start of co-residence has only been minimally studied. This study examines (1) whether women move more often and move over longer distances at the start of co-residence and (2) whether gender differences (if any) stem from compositional differences between women and men, such as gender differences in ties, or if they are the consequence of the within-couple distribution of bargaining power. The analyses are performed on Swedish population register data from 1991 to 2008, including longitudinal information on the residence of all couples who either married or had a child as cohabitants in 2008, backtracking them to the year of union formation. The results indicate that women are more prone to move for the sake of their male partner in the process of union formation than vice versa. If partners lived in close proximity prior to co-residence, the woman’s increased likelihood of moving and longer distance moved is nearly completely explained by power imbalances in the couple. Gender differences in ties only have minor importance in explaining gender differences in these types of migration patterns. If partners lived far apart prior to co-residence, gender differences are particularly pronounced. These differences remain after adjusting for the two partners’ relative resources. We contribute to the family migration literature by suggesting that women’s higher propensity to move and their longer distance moved are indications that even couples’ decisions at the start of co-residence are made in favour of the man’s career.

Residential Segregation of European and Non-European Migrants in Sweden: 1990–2012

In this paper, we analyse how a migrant population that is both expanding and changing in composition has affected the composition of Swedish neighbourhoods at different scales. The analysis is based on Swedish geocoded individual-level register data for the years 1990, 1997, 2005, and 2012. This allows us to compute and analyse the demographic composition of neighbourhoods that range in size from encompassing the nearest 100 individuals to the nearest 409,600 individuals. First, the results confirm earlier findings that migrants, especially those from non-European countries, face high levels of segregation in Sweden. Second, large increases in the non-European populations in combination with high levels of segregation have increased the proportion of non-European migrants living in neighbourhoods that already have high proportions of non-European migrants. Third, in contrast to what has been the established image of segregation trends in Sweden, and in an apparent contrast to the finding that non-European migrants increasingly live in migrant-dense neighbourhoods, our results show that segregation, when defined as an uneven distribution of different populations across residential contexts, is not increasing. On the contrary, for both European migrants from 1990 and non-European migrants from 1997, there is a downward trend in unevenness as measured by the dissimilarity index at all scale levels. However, if segregation is measured as differences in the neighbourhood concentration of migrants, segregation has increased.