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Socioeconomic Differences in Multipartner Fertility Among Norwegian Men

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Demography

Abstract

This article analyzes male fertility, with a particular focus on multipartner fertility, for cohorts born 1955 to 1984 in Norway. We find that socioeconomically disadvantaged men have the lowest chance of becoming fathers and the lowest likelihood of fathering multiple children in stable unions. Multipartner fertility, on the other hand, is positively associated with both disadvantage and advantage: higher-order birth risks with a new partner are more prevalent among men with low as well as high socioeconomic status. An intervening factor among disadvantaged men may be a higher union dissolution risk, and an elevated risk among advantaged men may be associated with their higher preferences for children and other features that make these men more attractive to women as partners and fathers of future children.

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Notes

  1. Low education is here defined as compulsory or 10 years of schooling; highest education is defined as college or university taking five or more years (e.g., a master’s degree or PhD, taking 18 or more years).

  2. We use a recent version of the standard in which the levels of education have been revised to be more compatible with international standards (see www.ssb.no/utniv_en/).

  3. 1 US$ = 5.80 NOK according to exchange rates as of March 14, 2012.

  4. The income of persons with zero earnings is set to 1 NOK.

  5. Only 0.02 % become fathers before they reach age 16.

  6. The full results from these models may be obtained from the authors.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Research Council of Norway, and constitutes a part of the research project “Family dynamics, fertility choices, and family policy” (202442/S20). We are grateful for valuable comments from three anonymous referees and helpful suggestions from Torbjørn Hægeland, Øystein Kravdal, Turid Noack, Kjetil Telle, and participants at the XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, 2009.

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  1. Research Department, Statistics Norway, P.O.B. 8131 Dep, 0033, Oslo, Norway

    Trude Lappegård & Marit Rønsen

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  1. Trude Lappegård
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  2. Marit Rønsen
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Correspondence to Trude Lappegård.

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Lappegård, T., Rønsen, M. Socioeconomic Differences in Multipartner Fertility Among Norwegian Men. Demography 50, 1135–1153 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-012-0165-1

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