Care and Career – Educational Enrolment and Couples’ Childbearing Behaviour in Sweden

Sara Thalberg, Stockholm University

This study deals with the interrelationship between the gendered division of labour, study enrolment, earnings and childbearing. By using couple data for Swedish parents it is explored whether the father’s and the mother’s study enrolment and earnings are associated with the couple’s propensities to have a second or a third child in different ways. The empirical results show that couples where the father is a student have the highest birth risks, while couples where the mother is a student have the lowest risks. Most likely, these findings can be associated with the income-based Swedish parental leave insurance. As women still use most of the parental leave, it is more important for women to attain a decent income before having a child than it is for men. The results supports the hypothesis that while fathers’ breadwinner role has weakened, mothers’ role as primary caretakers of small children still remains strong.