Pau Baizán

Cohabitation, Marriage, and First Birth: The Interrelationship of Family Formation Events in Spain

In this paper, we investigate (1) the mutualcausal relationship between first unionformation and first childbirth, and (2) theexistence of constant unmeasured determinantsshared by these two events. We argue that thesedeterminants mainly consist of valueorientations that are heterogeneous in thepopulation. We apply event-history techniquesto retrospective survey data on Spain, allowingfor unobserved heterogeneity components whichsimultaneously affect the two processes. Ourfindings confirm the existence of a strongselection effect, which influences both unionformation and first birth. When controlling forthese shared factors, we find that the risk ofconception increases immediately at marriage,and it continues to be high during thefollowing four years. Entry into cohabitation,in contrast, produces a much smaller increasein the relative risk of conception. The effectof conception on union formation isparticularly strong during pregnancy, but itdeclines sharply after delivery.

Age differentiation in the effect of household situation on first-time homeownership

To become a homeowner, it is necessary tohave sufficient resources and stability in thehousehold situation. In existing studies,household type is often used as a proxy forlevel of stability. Household types with a highlevel of commitment (married couples withoutand with children) are regarded as stablehouseholds, and singles and cohabitors as lessstable households. In this paper, it is arguedthat stability can be reached not only bymaking a commitment, but also by growing older.Increasing age brings stability into the livesof singles and cohabitors. Age also matters forthe structure of resources and costs ofdifferent household types. From a combinationof theory on age and theory on homeownership inthe life course, five hypotheses are derived.They are tested on retrospective data by usingdiscrete-time event-history analysis. From amodel with interaction effects, it can be seenwhether the probability of becoming a homeownerdiffers between household types in differentage groups. The results show that marriedcouples have the highest probability ofbecoming homeowners in age group 18–24, whereasthe probability is highest for cohabitors inage group 25–29, and in age group 30–34 forsingles. This supports the idea that peoplebecome homeowners either when they make acommitment, or when stability is createdthrough the passage of time in a lesscommitting household type.

Child-Parent Separations among Senegalese Migrants to Europe: Migration Strategies or Cultural Arrangements?

The authors use the Migration between Africa and Europe (MAFE) project data to examine the incidence and duration of child-parent separations and the determinants of child-parent reunification among Senegalese migrants. Their findings indicate that approximately one-sixth of the Senegalese children in the sample were separated from their parents due to parental migration to Europe. These separations are relatively long, especially if the absent parent is the father. Reunification of Senegalese migrant parents with their children is infrequent, both in Senegal and in Europe. However, the location where reunification occurs is important, as it is associated with markedly different family types. Parents who end separations by returning to Senegal belong to families that clearly depart from the Western nuclear model, whereas Senegalese families in which parents decided to bring their children to Europe are closer to Western family arrangements.

Transition to Adulthood in Spain

During the last thirty years the transition to adulthood has changed profoundly in Spain. Many basic areas that strongly shape the social situation of young people and influence their integration into adult life have been completely transformed, with far-reaching consequences especially for women. Some examples of these developments are: the rapid expansion of educational enrolment and attainment; the deterioration of the labour market coupled with higher female participation; the democratisation of family relationships across the generations and between the sexes (Ministerio de Asuntos Sociales, 1988); the spread of “non-traditional” values and attitudes (CIRES, 1992); and the liberalisation of sexual behaviour (Delgado and Castro Martin, 1999). In contrast with these changes, there seems to have been relatively limited transformations in the way young adults form a family or household, as measured by indicators like the proportion of consensual unions, non-marital births, one-person households or divorces. The complexity of family life transitions characterising most Western countries, as illustrated by the pluralisation of their household structures, does not (yet?) apply to Spain. Nonetheless, family life and household composition for young people in this country have certainly been transformed.

Reunifying versus Living Apart Together Across Borders: A Comparative Analysis of Sub-Saharan Migration to Europe

This article studies the process of reunification in Europe among “living apart together across borders” (LATAB) couples of African origin (DR Congo, Ghana, and Senegal). Couple reunion is conceived as a multilevel process, wherein state selection (through immigration policies in destination countries) interacts with self-selection (at the couple level), under influence of the social context at origin. Based on event history analyses of the MAFE project, empirical results show that LATAB is a majority and durable living arrangement for sub-Saharan migrants, that the odds if reunifying depend on gender and inter-generational relationships, and that restrictive contexts at destination do not deter couple reunion.

The Effect of Gender Policies on Fertility: The Moderating Role of Education and Normative Context

Abstract In this paper, we aim to assess the extent to which individual-level completed fertility varies across contexts characterized by policies supporting different gender division of labor models. We examine key labor market and care policies that shape gender relations in households and in the public domain. We also consider the role of gender norms, which can act as both a moderator and a confounding factor for policy effects. We hypothesize that, by facilitating role compatibility and reducing the gendered costs of childrearing, policies that support gender equality lead to an increase in fertility levels and to a reduction in fertility differentials by the level of education. Using individual-level data from the European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions for 16 countries, combined with country-level data, we analyze completed fertility through multilevel Poisson’s models. We find that the national level of childcare coverage is positively associated with fertility. Family allowances, prevalence of women’s part-time employment and length of paid leaves were also found to be positively associated with completed fertility, though the associations were not statistically significant. These variables show a significant positive pattern according to education. A high number of average working hours for men are negatively associated with completed fertility and show a strong negative pattern by educational level. The prevalence of gender-egalitarian norms is highly predictive of fertility levels, yet we found no consistent evidence of a weaker association of gender-equality policies in countries where egalitarian values are less prevalent.

Distance, Transnational Arrangements, and Return Decisions of Senegalese, Ghanaian, and Congolese Migrants

This article examines the determinants of return of Senegalese, Ghanaian and Congolese migrants in Europe, and the extent to which their return decisions were linked to reasons and circumstances of their initial migration to Europe. We utilize the retrospective life history data collected by the MAFE Project in Senegal, Ghana and DR Congo and six European countries in order to understand whether and how changing conditions in both origin and destination countries, including policies, affect the migration dynamics between Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. The results show how the high cost entailed by this type of transcontinental long distance migration, reinforced by restrictive immigration policies, tend to delay and reduce return in comparison to shorter-distance moves. In addition, brain circulation and transnational family arrangements seem to be at work and seriously question the dominant approach to admission and circulation policies in Europe.

The impact of women's educational and economic resources on fertility. Spanish birth cohorts 1901-1950

In this chapter we portray the effects of female education and professional achievement on fertility decline in Spain over the period 1920-1980 (birth cohorts of 1900-1950). A longitudinal econometric approach is used to test the hypothesis that the effects of womens education in the revaluing of their time had a very significant influence on fertility decline. Although in the historical context presented here improvements in schooling were on a modest scale, they were continuous (with the interruption of the Civil War) and had a significant impact in shaping a model of low fertility in Spain. We also stress the relevance of this result in a context such as the Spanish for which liberal values were absent, fertility control practices were forbidden, and labour force participation of women was politically and socially constrained.

Couple Bargaining or Socio-Economic Status?

ABSTRACT The quality of time dedicated to child care has potentially positive effects on childrens life chances. However, the determinants of parental time allocation to child care remain largely unexplored. We assess two main explanations for differences among parents in the amount of time spent with children. The first, based on the relative resources hypothesis, links variation in time spent with children to the relative attributes (occupation, education or income) of one partner with the other. The second, derived from the social status hypothesis, suggests that variation in time spent with children can be attributed to the relative social position of the couple (i.e. higher status couples spend more time with children regardless of within-couple difference). To investigate these questions, we use a sample of parents living in a partnership with children younger than 10 years old from the 2002 to 2003 Spanish Time Use Survey (STUS) (n = 7438). We find little support for the ‘relative resources hypothesis’, although it has some explanatory power on supervisory and routine activities performed with children. Instead, consistent with the ‘social status hypothesis’, we find that time spent on child care is attributable to the social position of the couple, regardless of between-parent differences in income or education. The ‘social status hypothesis’ is especially relevant for explaining the time that parents devote to activities that have a higher potential for the development of the childs cognitive and social capabilities.

The policy context of fertility in Spain: Toward a gender-egalitarian model?

Fertility levels have remained very low in Spain since the mid-1980s, implying a future rapid aging of the population. The stagnation of fertility levels is closely linked to the substantial changes in the welfare regime experienced during this period, involving shifts in the share of the cost of children between social institutions. While exchanges of care and financial support across generations are still high, including a prolonged coresidence of young adults with their parents, the role of households as providers of care and other services has substantially declined. The rapid increase in women’s labor-market participation has led the dual- full-time-earner family model to become the norm, although this trend has not been matched by a similar increase in men’s unpaid work. These processes have weakened the ability of households to provide care and have created a demand for both state intervention and market solutions. The resulting care gap has been partially filled by the expansion of non-family childcare, in which the state has had an important role both as provider and regulator of the market. At the same time, childcare within the family has been undermined by policies in the domains of parental leave, part-time opportunities, and child benefits/tax allowances that provide little support to parenthood. Moreover, labor-market deregulation, focused on the young, has brought with it an increase in uncertainty about income, leading to the postponement of family transitions and depressing fertility.