Factors to Childlessness :: Reproduction, Sweden

Factors associated with the trends in childlessness: (1000 words ) Trends in marriage, trends in formation of family—Drawing from the literature. Role of voluntary and involuntary factors (1000 words ) Is childlessness due to infertility or by circumstances or choice?- Drawing from the literature. The risk of childlessness is increased with the delay in the first birth. The reproduction span is also reduced and so is the number of children. Changes in educational level also leads to postpone ment of fertility.(Olah and Bernhardt 2008). High tolerance towards childless ness is found in the Post modern values dominant in Sweden propagate the importance of leisure and friends in life and children though considered important , are not needed for a fulfilling life (Olah and Bernhardt 2008). The tertiary educated women in Sweden is seen to have higher rates of childlessness than others(Olah and Bernhardt 2008 Sweden observed highest female labour force participation in Europe and was considered as the major reason for the fertility decline in 60s and 80s in Sweden along with the post modern values and contraception use which provided more control over childbearing to the women(Olah and Bernhardt 2008)) Contradictory to the above, Sweden , who is the forerunner in the second demographic transition, has observed the European highest and Sweden lowest fertility trends which have fluctuated greatly in 1960s and 70s (Olah and Bernhardt 2008).With the dominance of the post modern values in this increasingly secularised society, Sweden boasts of having one of the highest ideal family size in the European union and childlessness is relatively low (Olah and Bernhardt 2008). Sweden also has the highest amount of labour force participation in the entire Europe and the education among women is also as high as the men(Olah and Bernhardt 2008). There is an important role played by the family policies in Sweden in keeping the fertility level high, which are based on equality across social groups and gender (Olah and Bernhardt 2008). The eligibility to parental leave and other benefits is linked to the labour force attachments and thus the family policies play an important role in the changes in t he fertility rates(Ola and Bernhardt 2008). Some researchers attributes enhanced economic status and educational attainment have contributed in delays in marriage and childbearing and increases in divorce and single motherhood(Danziger and Ratner 2010) please refer more to source Claudia Goldin (2006) describes women’s enhanced engagement in the economy as the most remarkable change in the labour markets in the 20th century.