Fertility Decisions in Context - Individual and Couple Dynamics

This thesis contributes to enhance our knowledge on fertility decisions by addressing two major issues. First, it contributes to the understanding of the factors behind the differences in fertility levels among European countries by adopting a holistic perspective. Second, it adds to the fertility topic by examining the whole fertility decision-making process using a dyadic and a life-course perspective to address the ‘fertility gap’ that exists between desired family size and the actual number of children. In order to provide these contributions, this thesis is structured as follows. After a detailed review of the literature, major attention is dedicated to the analysis of the differences in terms of fertility levels between the European countries (Chapter 2). Chapter 3 investigates the fertility decision-making process exploiting the unique information of HILDA, which allows for a dyadic as well as longitudinal analysis of the overall process. The last chapter examines in-depth the transition to parenthood among couples of diverse ethnic origins in Australia.