Title |
Gender Equity, Opportunity Costs of Parenthood, and Educational Differences in Unintended First Births: Insights from Japan
|
---|---|
Published in |
Population Research and Policy Review, October 2014
|
DOI | 10.1007/s11113-014-9348-3 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
James M. Raymo, Kelly Musick, Miho Iwasawa |
Abstract |
We examine educational differences in the intendedness of first births in Japan using data from a nationally representative survey of married women (N = 2,373). We begin by describing plausible scenarios for a negative, null, and positive educational gradient in unintended first births. In contrast to well-established results from the U.S., we find evidence of a positive educational gradient in Japan. Net of basic demographic controls, university graduates are more likely than less-educated women to report first births as unintended. This pattern is consistent with a scenario emphasizing the high opportunity costs of motherhood in countries such as Japan where growing opportunities for women in employment and other domains of public life have not been accompanied by changes in the highly asymmetric roles of men and women within the family. We discuss potential implications of this suggestive finding for other low-fertility settings. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 43 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 10 | 23% |
Student > Master | 6 | 14% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 5 | 12% |
Researcher | 4 | 9% |
Student > Bachelor | 3 | 7% |
Other | 9 | 21% |
Unknown | 6 | 14% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Social Sciences | 22 | 51% |
Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 7 | 16% |
Nursing and Health Professions | 2 | 5% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 2 | 5% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 1 | 2% |
Other | 4 | 9% |
Unknown | 5 | 12% |