Research chronicle
Papers, preprints, data releases, and policy documents related to the indicators in this dataset, gathered daily and summarized by AI.
Changes in homeownership and entry into parenthood in the Nordic countries
AI summaryThis study examines whether declining homeownership among young adults contributed to falling first-birth rates in Nordic countries since 2010, using register data and event history/decomposition methods. Findings show homeownership declined in Denmark and Finland but not Sweden or Norway, and while compositional shifts in housing tenure partly explain fertility declines in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, the drop in parenthood occurred across all tenure groups, indicating broader behavioral changes, with renters experiencing a steeper decline than homeowners.
Abstract
Since 2010, fertility levels have declined unexpectedly in all Nordic countries, with record lows being reached in recent years. The reasons for these declines are unclear, except that fewer people are becoming parents. The aim of this study was to investigate whether changes in housing tenure played a role in the declined entry into parenthood. We expected that changes in housing tenure, particularly a decline in homeownership related to housing affordability challenges among young adults, may have contributed to this decline. Using harmonized Nordic individual-level register data, we assessed to what extent changes in housing tenure, changes in fertility behavior within tenure groups, or both, contributed to the decline. Discrete-time event history models and multivariate decomposition were applied. According to our results, homeownership among young adults declined in the 2010s in Denmark and Finland – but not in Sweden or Norway. The decline in first births was only partially attributable to compositional change in housing tenure along with other socioeconomic factors in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Entry into parenthood declined among women, regardless of their tenure status, in all four countries during the 2010s, suggesting the importance of behavioral changes. However, the decline was more pronounced among renters than homeowners.
AI summaryThis study uses harmonized register data from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland to examine trends in childbearing among female same-sex couples compared to different-sex couples following legal union, and how this varies by education and income. The findings show a sharp rise in childbearing among female same-sex couples, nearing parity with different-sex couples in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by around 2010, while Finland showed a later and slower increase; higher education, but not income, was linked to greater likelihood of having a child. The authors attribute these shifts to legal changes and increasingly supportive cultural and normative environments that have made same-sex parenthood more attainable in the Nordic region.
Abstract
Abstract The Nordic countries of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland were among the first countries to acknowledge same‐sex couples’ partnership and parenthood rights in their legislation. We explore trends over time in the share of female same‐sex and different‐sex couples that have children following their legal union and variation by socioeconomic status. Using harmonized register data, we assess couples’ likelihood of having a child over time, with a focus on education and income. We find strong increases in female couples’ likelihood of having a child, resulting in a sharply increasing prevalence, approaching near parity with different‐sex couples in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway around 2010. Finland diverges from the other countries in terms of its later and less steep increase. Higher education is associated with a higher likelihood of having a child, whereas we find a less clear gradient by income level. The results suggest that legal changes, together with more supportive wider cultural and normative societal environments, have made same‐sex parenthood more achievable in the Nordic countries. These changes are concurrent with the observed increase in parenthood. Following this increase, female couples today are nearly as likely as different‐sex couples to have children within a legal union.