Third-Birth-Fertility and Neighborhood Effects – Evidence from Sweden

Lotta Persson, Statistics Sweden
Lena Lundkvist, Statistics Sweden
Karin Elisabet Lundström, Statistics Sweden

The aim of the study is to find evidence of neighborhood effects when it comes to the decision of having the third child. Is it more common having a third child if living in areas where many have a positive attitude towards having many children? Attitudes are measured with the proxy-variable child density. The risk of having the third child is compared in a cox proportional hazard model for women living in neighborhoods with different child-densities. In this register study we have information on child-densities in 7 200 neighborhoods 1997–2008. The results show that women living in child dense areas have a greater risk to have a third child after controlling for several demographic and socioeconomic factors. The result holds also after controlling for selective migration. A geographic perspective in the study makes it possible to see the spread of third births over time.