Fertility and the changing female educational attainment in Croatia

Ivan Cipin, University of Zagreb
Petra Medimurec, University of Zagreb
Silvija Vlah Jeric, University of Zagreb

This paper investigates the aggregate relationship between cohort fertility and female educational attainment in Croatia. Demographers recognize women’s education as one of the main determinants of the timing of first births, and of overall fertility levels. Numerous studies have examined the link between fertility and the level of education. However, newer research indicates that the field of education might also play a role when trying to explain fertility behavior. We contribute to existing literature on macro-level factors related to reproductive outcomes by considering both the level and field of education as possible sources of cohort fertility differentials. Our analysis is based on detailed 2011 Census data, which provide information on the number of livebirths by mother’s year of birth, birth order, marital status and educational attainment (i.e. the level and field of education). The main goal of the present study is to assess the effect of structural changes in educational attainment on cohort fertility decline by means of demographic decomposition techniques. In addition to the level and field of education, marital status is also taken into account. We finally produce cohort parity progression ratios using data cross-classified by all three variables.