Changes in Gender Role Attitudes and Fertility: A Macro-Level Analysis

Bruno Arpino, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Gosta Esping-Andersen, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Léa Pessin, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

In this article, we assess whether the diffusion of egalitarian attitudes towards gender roles within countries are associated with fertility levels. The argument builds around the idea that to be positively associated with fertility, egalitarian gender attitudes must not only be high but also diffused among different sub-groups of the population, namely between men and women. Our empirical analysis is based on a sample of twenty-seven countries - observed in 1990, 2000 and 2009 - using data from the World Values Surveys and European Values Studies. Results show that both gender role attitudes and their diffusion within society matter for fertility. We find evidence in support of a U-shaped relationship between changes in gender role attitudes and fertility, which is moderated by the difference in attitudes between men and women.