Fertility in Transition Family and Fertility Dynamics in East Germany after Unification Michaela Kreyenfeld

Politics and Media Convergence of fertility behavior= indicator of „social unification“? Statistical Office Harmonizing of the statistics? Social Science Natural experiement Study of behavior under radically new constraints Relevance of Research Question

Structure of Talk 1. Constraints and fertility dynamics until Constraints and attitudes after Fertility dynamics after 1990

Constraints before 1990 Planned Economy Constitutional „right to work” No unemployment Integration of Women into Labor Market Normative pressure to be employed High public day care coverage Pro-Natalistic Policies (since 1972) Policies and „moral appeals“ that encouraged early first birth Policies directed to higher order births

Fertility Dynamics before 1990 Total Fertility Rate Source: Statistisches Bundesamt East Germany West Germany Pro-natalistic policies

Fertility Dynamics before 1990 Source: Statistisches Bundesamt Percentage of Non-Marital Births 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% East Germany West Germany

Fertility Dynamics before 1990 Source: Micro-census 1998 (own calculations) 0% 50% 100% Age of woman Cohort 1964 (West) Cohort 1964 (Ost) Survival curve to first birth (percentage childless by age) ~ % ~ 5-10 % ~ 5 years

Part 2 Constraints and Attitudes after 1990

Fall of Berlin Wall Jan Feb Mar Apr Mai Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Mai Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Monetary Union Legal Unification Treuhand Fall of ‘Berlin Wall’ in November 1989 Start of Privatization Process in March 1990 Monetary Union in July 1990 Political and Legal Unification in October 1990 Constraints and Attitudes after 1990

Unemployment Rate Source: Bundesagentur für Arbeit 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% East Germany West Germany Constraints and Attitudes after 1990

Hourly Gross Wage Wages in the industry sector Source: Statistisches Bundesamt East Germany West Germany

Constraints and Attitudes after 1990 Worried about Job Security % of respondents who is very worried about job security Source: SOEP (own estimations) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% East Germany West Germany

Constraints and Attitudes after 1990 One needs a Family to Lead a Happy Life % of respondents who states that one needs a family to lead a happy life Source: ALLBUS (own estimations) 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% West Germany East Germany

Constraints and Attitudes after 1990 Child Suffers when Mother Works % of respondents who believe that child suffers when mother works Source: ALLBUS (own estimations) West Germany East Germany

Constraints and Attitudes after 1990 Mother‘s Full-time Employment % of mothers*) who work full-time, [*)women aged with children aged 1-15] Quelle: Kreyenfeld/ Konietzka (2007) 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% West Germany East Germany West Germany East Germany

Constraints and Attitudes after 1990 Quelle: Statistisches Bundesamt Provision of Public Day Care (Children under age 3) (Availability ratio for public day care places for children aged 0-3) West Germany East Germany

Part 3 Family Dynamics after 1990

Fertility Dynamics after 1990 Total Fertility Rate Source: Statistisches Bundesamt East Germany West Germany

0% 50% 100% Age of Woman Family Dynamics after 1990 Source: Micro-census (own estimations) Cohort 1972 (East) Cohort 1964 (East) ~ 5 years Survival Curve to First Birth (percentage childless by age) Cohort 1972 (West)

Family Dynamics after 1990 Source: Kreyenfeld/ Konietzka (2007) Childlessness at age 38 in East and West Germany Cohort 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% % 14% 20% 1965 East Germany West Germany

Fertility Dynamics after 1990 Source: Statistisches Bundesamt Percentage of Non-Marital Births 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% % 34% 10% East Germany West Germany

Fertility Dynamics after 1990 Source: Statistisches Bundesamt Percentage of Non-Marital Births 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% % 34% 59% 10% 23% East Germany West Germany

Family Dynamics after 1990 Source: miicro-census (own estimations) West GermanyEast Germany No degree Vocational University degree 14% 8% 7% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% No degree Vocational degree University degree 64% 39% 21% 26% 18% 7% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Non-marital parenthood by women’s education (% of unmarried mothers*) by final education [women aged with children below age 3 )]

Conclusions Family Formation Dramatic increase in age at first birth compared to GDR-times However: East Germans are still younger at first birth than West Germans  Crisis of East or West German behavior? Non-Marital Fertility Unexpected increase in non-marital fertilty in the East after 1990  Persisting East-West- Differences in family structure  No „adaptation“ to West German constraints?

“The more liberal attitudes towards out-of- wedlock childbearing – already more accepted in the rest of Europe– could disrupt the more traditional West German pattern of family formation” (Heilig/Büttner/ Lutz 1990) Conclusions Percentage of Non-Marital Births in 2004 Source: Council of Europe

Max-Planck-Institut für demografische Forschung