Maria Rita Testa

Attitudes and Intentions Toward Childlessness in Europe

This study uses the IPPAS data for 13 European societies to analyse attitudes related to childlessness and intentions to remain childless. We combine descriptive analysis of all analysed countries with logistic regression of intentions to remain childless in Belgium (Flanders), Germany, Italy and Poland for respondents aged 18–39. We observe that attitudes toward children and childlessness are similar for men and women, but depict a wide cross-country differentiation, with respondents in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders) showing the most positive attitudes towards childlessness. The survey indicates that a significant proportion of younger childless respondents in each country intend to remain childless or are uncertain about parenthood. Germany stands out by the overall high levels of intended childlessness, as well as by a high proportion of uncertain and undecided respondents. Our analysis has documented a high degree of correlation between intended childlessness and preferences for less traditional living arrangements; as well as a strong association between respondents’ positive attitudes toward family life and their fertility intentions.

On the positive correlation between education and fertility intentions in Europe: Individual- and country-level evidence ☆

Increasing shares of European women are making large investments in their human capital. Whether and to what extent these investments are in conflict with reproductive behaviour are issues that have repercussions for fertility levels. Using two Eurobarometer survey data (2006 and 2011) on individuals clustered in the 27 EU countries, I investigate the relationship between womens education and lifetime fertility intentions. Results suggest that a positive association between womens level of education and lifetime fertility intentions exists at both the individual and country levels, as well as in a micro–macro integrated framework. The main explanation for these findings—which remains to be proven by future research—is that, in institutional contexts allowing highly educated women to have large families, women of reproductive ages are more prone to make investments in both human capital and family size, because these choices are not seen as incompatible alternatives.

Human Capital, Values, and Attitudes of Persons Seeking Refuge in Austria in 2015

Since its inception in 2010, the Arab Spring has evolved into a situation of violent conflict in many countries, leading to high levels of migration from the affected region. Given the social impact of the large number of individuals applying for asylum across Europe in 2015, it is important to study who these persons are in terms of their skills, motivations, and intentions. DiPAS (Displaced Persons in Austria Survey) aims to uncover the socio-demographic characteristics of the persons seeking refuge who arrived in Austria in 2015, mainly originating from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Particular focus is on human capital, attitudes and values. This survey, the first of its kind in Austria and possibly in Europe, was carried out among adult displaced persons, mostly residing in Vienna, yielding 514 completed interviews. Information gathered on spouses and children allows for the analysis of 972 persons living in Austria, and of further 419 partners and children abroad. Results indicate that the surveyed population comprised mainly young families with children, particularly those coming from Syria and Iraq. Their educational level is high compared with the average level in their country of origin. A vast majority of respondents are Muslims, rating their religiosity at medium levels. Judging from stated attitudes towards gender equity, interviewed men seem to have more liberal attitudes than their compatriots. The majority of respondents do not intend to return to their home countries, mostly because of the perception of permanent threat. DiPAS provides data for political decision-making and the on-going societal dialogue. Its findings can help to inform assessments about the integration potential of the displaced population into the host society. In addition, the applied methodological technique and experiences during the fieldwork provide valuable insights on sampling asylum seekers and refugees in the current European context.

L´influence des différences de fécondité dans les régions européennes sur la taille idéale de la famille.

L’ideal de la famille a deux enfants n’est plus universellement repandu en Europe, mais les raisons determinant la preference pour un nombre donne d’enfants n’ont pas encore fait l’objet de recherches systematiques. Nous utilisons les donnees de l’Eurobarometre portant sur les preferences des personnes âgees de 20 a 39 ans interrogees dans les regions des 15 pays membres de l’Union europeenne en 2001 auxquelles nous appliquons des modeles de regression logistique. Nous adoptons une approche multiniveau pour examiner les facteurs aux niveaux individuel et regional qui influencent les preferences en matiere de taille de la famille en prenant en compte les similitudes entre les personnes qui partagent le meme environnement demographique et socio-economique non observable. Le resultat principal de notre etude est que la fecondite reelle des generations plus âgees influence les preferences des generations plus jeunes : dans les regions ou, par le passe, le nombre reel d’enfants par famille a ete en moyenne moins eleve, la probabilite de preferer avoir une famille de petite taille est plus elevee chez les personnes en âge de procreer.

Fertility-Related Norms Across Europe: A Multi-level Analysis

This chapter explores cross-national differences in fertility-related norms. In particular, we study whether such norms are weaker in countries that have progressed further along the path of the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) than in countries where the SDT has not yet ‘caught on’. Based on an analysis of ESS data, three key conclusions are drawn. First, country differences in the lower and upper age deadline for childbearing are small. At the same time, there is substantial cross-national variation in approval of voluntary childlessness, having a child while one is cohabiting unmarried, and women combining a full-time job and small children. Secondly, cross-national variation in approval of voluntary childlessness and in approval of having children in a consensual union are strongly related to how far a country is ‘advanced’ in the SDT process. The link between the SDT and deadlines for childbearing and approval of combining a full-time job and having small children is much weaker or non-existing. Thus, the SDT does not imply a general weakening of demographically relevant norms. Thirdly, across Europe, the highly educated, the religiously uncommitted, and those who value autonomy are much more likely to approve behaviours that are in line with the SDT than people with the opposite set of characteristics. At the same time, country-level differences in norms about voluntary childlessness and having a child outside marriage remain prominent, even if compositional differences in individual-level characteristics are taken into account. Thus, this study clearly shows the importance both of compositional and genuinely contextual effects.

Non solo emigrazioni: strategie di risposta alla crisi di fine ’800 nel Veneto

Non solo emigrazioni: strategie di risposta alla crisi di fine ’800 nel Veneto Almeno sino agli anni ‘80 dell’Ottocento il Veneto presentava ancora aspetti tipici di ancien regime. Il fenomeno delle emigrazioni di massa scoppio quasi all’improvviso a sconvolgere una societa definita dagli storici economicamente arretrata, ostile ai cambiamenti, legata a consuetudini ataviche, avvolta in un sistema stratificato di autodifese psicologiche dai rischi che potevano derivare dall’esterno. L’emigrazione fu la risposta piu eclatante, ma non l’unica, adottata per rispondere allo squilibrio tra popolazione e risorse, accentuato dalla crisi agraria di fine Ottocento. Il lavoro proposto evidenzia come in alcuni distretti del Veneto l’emigrazione fu infatti del tutto trascurabile e la risposta alla crisi si attuo attraverso il ricorso a forme flessibili di integrazione del reddito. Inoltre l’emigrazione forni solo una risposta provvisoria ad una crisi che aveva cause strutturali e nuove, rispetto alle crisi di ancien regime, e richiedeva quindi nuove soluzioni, quali l’avvio di un coerente processo di modernizzazione e l’inizio della transizione riproduttiva. In particolare ci si chiede se possa essere individuata una relazione tra crisi di fine Ottocento, emigrazioni di massa ed inizio del declino della fecondita. Not only out-migration: response strategies to the turn of the XIXth century crisis in the Venetian region Until the 1890s, the Veneto region had the typical characteristics of all traditional economies of the ancien regime. The mass emigration, almost suddenly, broke out in an economically backward society. Indeed, the Venetian society was reluctant to all innovations, characterised by ancestral customs, provided with a stratified self-defence system against any external risks. To face the imbalance between population and resources, accentuated by the agricultural crisis of the late XIXth century, the emigration was the most striking solution, even though not the only one. This article shows how in some districts of the Veneto region the emigration was absolutely marginal and how the agrarian crisis was faced by means of flexible systems of income integration. Furthermore, where adopted, the emigration provided only a temporary answer to the crisis. The crisis, brought about by new structural factors, claimed new and more radical solutions, such as: the outset of a coherent modernisation process and the start of the reproduction transition. In particular, we wonder whether the crisis of the late XIXth century, the mass emigration and the start of the fertility decline may be existed.

Climate Change and Reproductive Intentions in Europe

The harsh impacts of climate change and its related hazards are increasingly being felt across the world. A large consensus has emerged among natural scientists about the nature and the impact of climate change. It is recognized that climate change is largely anthropogenic and that, in turn, a continuous worsening of environmental conditions has strong impacts on populations’ and individuals’ well-being (Lutz, 2010).