Young parenthood in Sweden : The influence on fertility of education among young adults, 1980-2014

Abstract: There are indications that young adults, and especially young parents, are inincreasingly economically challenging positions. Educational attainment is commonly used in research evaluating fertility behaviour, while less is known how the relationship between education and fertility has changed over time. Therefore, this thesis analyses the transition into parenthood among young adult men and women in Sweden over time, focusing on the role of education on fertility. Using an event history analysis framework, the transition to first birth among 20-25 year-olds in Sweden is analysed using the Swedish Generations and Gender Survey over the period 1980 to 2014. On average, men and women of lower education have a higher risk of entering parenthood between the ages of 20 to 25 compared to all other educational levels. However, the relationship seems to be conditioned on calendar period and gender, where the risk of entering parenthood between ages 20 to 25 is higher in the 1990s and 2000s compared to the 1980s among low educated men, where the opposite is true for women.