EXPLAINING DUTCH FERTILITY RATES IN A COMPARATIVE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the search for explanations of the cross-national variation in fertility rates by studying the influence of social policy, economic and cultural factors on fertility in the former EU15, while giving special attention to one case: The Netherlands. This country lacks good social policy for supporting parents to combine work and care and nevertheless has a relatively high fertility rate. This article addresses the backgrounds of that phenomenon, using comparative macro level data from several sources, such as ‘the child benefit package’, the European Values Studies, OECD and Eurostat. We argue that bivariate relationships cannot explain cross-national variation in fertility rates. Therefore, we analyse configurations of factors, which shows among others that high availability of part-time jobs for women constitutes only part of the explanation for the Dutch fertility level. Good economic prospects and high male wages in combination with relatively low female human capital make that Dutch families can afford children at their own costs when men work full-time and women work part-time. Therefore, the low level of social policy that supports parents in the indirect or direct costs of children does not result in low fertility rates.

[1]  G. Becker,et al.  Human Capital , 2020, Property, Institutions, and Social Stratification in Africa.

[2]  Oecd Ocde.  Education At A Glance , 2005 .

[3]  M. Daly.  Changing family life in Europe: Significance for state and society , 2005 .

[4]  K. Mcquillan.  When Does Religion Influence Fertility , 2004 .

[5]  Wolfgang Lutz,et al.  The emergence of Sub-Replacement Family Size Ideals in Europe , 2003 .

[6]  Francis G. Castles,et al.  The World Turned Upside Down: Below Replacement Fertility, Changing Preferences and Family-Friendly Public Policy in 21 OECD Countries , 2003 .

[7]  S. Leitner.  Varieties of familialism: The caring function of the family in comparative perspective , 2003 .

[8]  P. Mira,et al.  A note on the changing relationship between fertility and female employment rates in developed countries , 2002 .

[9]  J. Plantenga.  Combining work and care in the polder model: an assessment of the Dutch part-time strategy , 2002 .

[10]  F. Block,et al.  Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies , 2001 .

[11]  B. Hoem.  The influence of economic factors on the rise and fall in fertility 1986-1997 , 2000 .

[12]  Ronald Lee,et al.  Fertility in the United States : new patterns, new theories , 1997 .

[13]  J. Chesnais,et al.  Fertility, Family, and Social Policy in Contemporary Western Europe , 1996 .

[14]  T. Skocpol,et al.  The Uses of Comparative History in Macrosocial Inquiry , 1980, Comparative Studies in Society and History.

[15]  E. Durkheim,et al.  Rules of Sociological Method , 1964 .

[16]  Walter J. Murphy,et al.  The Employment Outlook , 1947 .

[17]  J. Bradshaw,et al.  A Comparison of Child Benefit Packages in 22 Countries - A summary of the child benefit package for each country: Appendix to Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No. 174 , 2002 .

[18]  F. Kaufmann.  Problems and issues in comparative perspective , 2002 .

[19]  T. Knijn.  Care Work: Innovations in the Netherlands , 2001 .

[20]  Loek Halman,et al.  The European Values Study: A Third Wave. Sourcebook of the 1999/2000 European Values Study Surveys , 2001 .

[21]  F. V. Wel,et al.  Een wankel evenwicht: arbeid en zorg in gezinnen met jonge kinderen , 2001 .

[22]  T. Rostgaard,et al.  Caring for children and older people: A comparison of European policies and practices , 1998 .

[23]  S. Prechal,et al.  Care in Europe , 1998 .

[24]  R. Rindfuss,et al.  Childrearing and fertility. , 1996 .

[25]  Charles C. Ragin,et al.  Constructing social research :the unity and diversity of method , 1996 .

[26]  A. Avort,et al.  Het Nederlandse gezinsleven aan het einde van de twintigste eeuw. Een survey-onderzoek onder Nederlandse ouders in het kader van het Internationale Jaar van het Gezin. (Nuclear Families in the Netherlands towards the end of the 20th century) , 1996 .

[27]  D. Macunovich.  Relative Income and Price of Time: Exploring their effcts on U.S. Fertility and Female Labor Force Participation, 1963-1993 , 1996 .

[28]  P. Kooreman.  De economie van de huishoudelijke sector. Boekbespreking: Soo gewonne, soo verteert: economie van de huishoudelijke sector, A.J.M. Hagenaars, S.R. Wunderink-van Veen. Stenfert Kroese, Leiden 1990. , 1991 .

[29]  Socialforskningsinstituttet.  The Danish National Institute of Social Research , 1966 .