Beyond the Great Recession: Labor Market Polarization and Ongoing Fertility Decline in the United States.

ABSTRACT: In the years since the Great Recession, social scientists have anticipated that economic recovery in the United States, characterized by gains in employment and median household income, would augur a reversal of declining fertility trends. However, the expected post-recession rebound in fertility rates has yet to materialize. In this study, I propose an economic explanation for why fertility rates have continued to decline regardless of improvements in conventional economic indicators. I argue that ongoing structural changes in U.S. labor markets have prolonged the financial uncertainty that leads women and couples to delay or forgo childbearing. Combining statistical and survey data with restricted-use vital registration records, I examine how cyclical and structural changes in metropolit

SUBMITTER: Seltzer N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7197790 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature