Trude Lappegard

• Brini, Elisa; Dommermuth, Lars; Lappegård, Trude; Mynarska, Monika & Raybould, Alyce (2026). Childbearing Motivations and Fertility Desires: An Empirical Analysis for Norway. Comparative population studies. ISSN 1869-8980. 51, p. 49–72. doi: 10.12765/CPoS-2026-03. Full text in Research Archive
• Lappegård, Trude; Kristensen, Axel Peter & Dommermuth, Lars (2025). Disentangling the relative importance of subjective economic uncertainty for fertility intentions and realization in Norway. Genus - Journal of Population Sciences. ISSN 0016-6987. 81(1). doi: 10.1186/s41118-025-00278-9. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study uses longitudinal data from two waves of the Norwegian Generations and Gender Survey (2020 and 2024) to test whether subjective economic uncertainty predicts fertility intentions and the transition to parenthood, controlling for objective economic uncertainty. The Norwegian welfare state provides an extensive economic safety net and institutional buffer, which could dampen the behavioral impact of perceived financial strain. Nevertheless, among 609 childless adults aged 25–34, reporting difficulties making ends meet was associated with a lower probability of realizing intended first births, even after controlling for employment status and income. Other subjective measures—expectations about personal finances in three years and worries about the macroeconomy—showed no significant effects. Overall, fertility intentions were less influenced by subjective economic uncertainty than was the subsequent realization of those intentions. This suggests that intentions translate into behavior only when external constraints, including individuals’ perceptions of their economic situation, permit it. These results highlight the importance of incorporating individuals’ subjective assessments of their current and future economic situation into fertility research.

• Nisén, Jessica; Klüsener, Sebastian; Dahlberg, Johan; Dommermuth, Lars; Jasilioniene, Aiva & Kreyenfeld, Michaela [Show all 17 contributors for this article] (2025). Economic Conditions, Education and Parity‐Specific Fertility: A Sub‐National Regional Study Across 15 Countries in Europe. Population, Space and Place. ISSN 1544-8444. 31(6). doi: 10.1002/psp.70074. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There is a longstanding interest in the link between economic conditions and fertility levels. Most research measuring economic development has focused on national‐level patterns and period total fertility levels. We aim to extend existing knowledge by carrying out a sub‐national regional analysis of the link between economic conditions and parity‐specific cohort fertility, while taking into account heterogeneity by educational level. We study three fertility outcomes by women's education: the share of women who remain childless, the mean number of children per mother and the mean number of children per woman. For this analysis, we harmonised register, census and large‐scale survey data from 15 European countries, with a focus on women born in the late 1960s. Women's fertility was measured at the end of their reproductive careers and combined with contextual information, including information on the regional GDP (per capita). In our multiple regression models that controlled for country‐level factors, we found that GDP was positively associated with childlessness among women with medium and high levels of education. However, GDP was negatively associated with the number of children per mother among women with low levels of education. These findings show that the relationship between economic conditions and fertility varies depending on the level of education of the women, and it differs between childlessness and continued childbearing. High‐income contexts may be less supportive of continued childbearing for women with lower levels of education.

• Bazzani, Giacomo; Dommermuth, Lars; Lappegård, Trude & Vignoli, Daniele (2025). Frontiers of self-realisation. How (un)certainty and imaginaries shape fertility intentions in Italy and Norway. Acta Sociologica. ISSN 0001-6993. doi: 10.1177/00016993241300434. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The prevalence of uncertainty and post-materialist values appears to contribute to the emergence of low-fertility patterns or even the prevalence of childlessness. This article casts doubt on this linear explanation, which seems to remove children from personal plans and aspirations. Drawing on a survey encompassing both open and closed questions to 837 heterosexual respondents from Norway and Italy, this study investigates both the enabling and hindering factors that affect fertility intentions. Employing a qualitative-driven mixed-methods approach, the results confirm the significant roles of uncertainty and self-realisation in the childbearing decision-making process, with the former being more pronounced in Italy and the latter in Norway. Additionally, fertility intentions can be considered as enhancing narratives of the self, often existing ‘despite’ uncertainty. In line with the concept of family formation as a ‘bricolage process’, we find that children may represent an opportunity for self-realisation, portraying a new type of children imaginary as ‘choice, pleasure, and social anchor’.

• Kristensen, Axel Peter & Lappegård, Trude (2025). Social Fathering and Childlessness. Demography. ISSN 0070-3370. 62(2), p. 687–706. doi: 10.1215/00703370-11873548. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article aims to investigate the relationship between social fathering, defined as the experience of men who are married to or cohabiting with the biological mother of a child to whom they are not biologically related, and childlessness. The point of departure is the increasing childlessness in Norway and most Western countries. Using Norwegian administrative register data on men born in 1980, including complete partnership histories covering 18 years, we estimate the relationship between social fatherhood and childlessness at age 42. Men's partnership histories were defined using sequence analysis. Our results show that men who experience social fathering are more likely to be childless than those who do not. However, the relationship between social fathering and childlessness is not uniform: childlessness varies by the duration, timing, and complexity of partnerships. Men with transient and short-term social fathering experiences and unstable, complex partnership histories are more likely to remain childless. Men in long-term partnerships who experience social fathering are more likely to remain childless than men in long-term partnerships without such experience.

• Lappegård, Trude; Kornstad, Tom; Dommermuth, Lars & Kristensen, Axel Peter (2023). Understanding the Positive Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women's Fertility in Norway. Population and Development Review. ISSN 0098-7921. 0(0), p. 1–25. doi: 10.1111/padr.12539. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on fertility in Norway at the individual level. Studies using data at the macrolevel have found a positive short-term effect of the pandemic on the fertility level in Norway, but women's fertility response to the pandemic may differ depending on their life situation. We use the first lockdown on March 12, 2020, as a marker of the pandemic and apply a regression discontinuity design to compare births of women that were conceived before the pandemic started with those conceived during the first eight months of the pandemic. The positive effect on women's fertility in Norway was mainly driven by women in life phases that have generally high fertility rates (women aged 28–35 years and women who already have children). These groups are likely to be in an economically and socially secure and stable situation in which the restrictions due to the pandemic had limited influence. Besides two exceptions, we do not find differences in the effect of the pandemic on childbearing by women's work situation. This is most likely related to the strong welfare state and the generous additional pandemic-related measures taken by the Norwegian government.

• Kristensen, Axel Peter & Lappegård, Trude (2022). Unemployment and fertility: The relationship between individual and aggregated unemployment and fertility during 1994–2014 in Norway. Demographic Research. ISSN 1435-9871. 46, p. 1037–1064. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2022.46.35. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background: Studies on the unemployment–fertility relationship show divergent and inconclusive findings. Objective: We aim to investigate the unemployment–fertility relationship by focusing on multiple dimensions of unemployment across 21 years. Methods: Using register data covering the Norwegian population in the period 1994–2014, we apply discrete-time event history analysis to estimate the relative risk of first and higher-order births for men and women by their employment situation and local unemployment levels. Results: There is a negative association between individual unemployment and the risk of birth for childless women, childless men, and fathers. For mothers, the association is positive. The negative association is present among childless men and childless women across the included time period of the study, whereas for mothers and fathers it disappeared over time. There is a negative association between municipal unemployment rates and higher-order births, but not first births. A positive association was found in the 1990s for childless men and childless women, but at the turn of the millennium the association became slightly negative. For mothers and fathers, the negative association remains over time but grows weaker and less clear. Our findings also show that individual unemployment matters more for people’s fertility behavior than aggregated unemployment and that it matters more for childless individuals’ childbearing decisions than for parents’. Contribution: By investigating the unemployment–fertility relationship using different unemployment measures and a gender perspective, this paper extends our understanding of contemporary fertility dynamics while also checking for potential changes in this relationship across time.

• Lappegård, Trude; Kristensen, Axel Peter; Dommermuth, Lars; Minello, Alessandra & Vignoli, Daniele (2022). The impact of narratives of the future on fertility intentions in Norway. Journal of Marriage and Family. ISSN 0022-2445. 84(2), p. 476–493. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12822. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract Objective This study examines the effect of exposure to different economic narratives of the future on fertility intentions of Norwegian couples. Background Fertility patterns should not only be interpreted in relation to economic uncertainty conceptualized as objective constraints. One should also consider that subjective narratives of economic uncertainty may have a significant role in fertility decision-making. Method Data were collected from a controlled laboratory experiment of both partners in heterosexual couples in fall 2019 in Oslo, Norway (N = 838). The participants were randomly assigned to read either a negative or a positive future economic scenario, while a control group was not assigned to any scenario. Results The economic scenarios influenced couples' fertility intentions, with the negative scenario causing a clear decrease in fertility intentions and the positive scenario causing an increase in fertility intentions. Men and women responded in similar ways to the scenarios. The effect of exposure to the scenarios is not moderated by objective measures such as couple employment status and income, except in one case. Conclusion Our experimental setting demonstrates that people's fertility intentions are shaped by their subjective view of the future economic situation.

• Lappegård, Trude; Neyer, Gerda & Vignoli, Daniele (2021). Three dimensions of the relationship between gender role attitudes and fertility intentions. Genus - Journal of Population Sciences. ISSN 0016-6987. 77(1). doi: 10.1186/s41118-021-00126-6. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The relationship between gender role attitudes and fertility intentions is highly debated among social scientists. We emphasize the need for a multidimensional theoretical and empirical approach to extend the two-step behavioral gender revolution approach to a three-step attitudinal gender revolution approach distinguishing between gender roles in the public sphere, mothers’ role in the family, and fathers’ role in the family. Using the Generations and Gender Survey of eight European countries, we demonstrate the usefulness of such an approach. Gender equal attitudes related to the public sphere are more widespread than those concerning mothers’ or fathers’ roles in the family. Our results show that the association between gender role attitudes and fertility intentions varies—in terms of significance and magnitude—according to the dimension considered (gender roles in the public sphere, mothers’ and fathers’ role in the family), gender, parity, and country. We conclude that without a clear concept of and empirical distinction between the various elements of the gender role attitudes/fertility nexus, scientific investigations will continue to send conflicting messages.

• Comolli, Chiara Ludovica; Neyer, Gerda; Andersson, Gunnar; Dommermuth, Lars; Fallesen, Peter & Jalovaara, Marika [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2020). Beyond the Economic Gaze: Childbearing During and After Recessions in the Nordic Countries. European Journal of Population. ISSN 0168-6577. doi: 10.1007/s10680-020-09570-0. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  During the 2010s, fertility rates fell across the Nordic region. The onset of these declines seems linked to the Great Recession of 2008–2009, but their continuation cannot easily be linked to subsequent economic change. The 1990s, too, brought episodes of economic crises to the Nordic region that were followed by different degrees of fertility decline. In this study, we provide an empirical overview of parity-, age- and education-specific fertility developments in the five Nordic countries in the wake of the economic recessions in 2008 and the early 1990s, respectively. We demonstrate a high degree of heterogeneity in fertility developments across countries after 1990, whereas after 2008, the trends are much more similar across the five countries. Likewise, the educational differences in birth hazards that characterized the developments after 1990 were much smaller in the initial years after 2008–2009. This reversal from heterogeneity to homogeneity in the fertility response to recessions calls for an expansion of theories on the cyclicality of fertility in relation to uncertainty and economic and social change. In our discussion, we consider the role of a set of factors that also incorporates the state, crisis management, and perceptions of economic and welfare uncertainty.

• Lappegård, Trude (2020). Future fertility trends are shaped at the intersection of gender and social stratification. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research. ISSN 1728-4414. 18(2020), p. 1–6. doi: 10.1553/populationyearbook2020.deb04. Full text in Research Archive
• Nisén, Jessica; Klüsener, Sebastian; Dahlberg, Johan; Dommermuth, Lars; Jasilioniene, Aiva & Kreyenfeld, Michaela [Show all 17 contributors for this article] (2020). Educational differences in cohort fertility across sub-national regions in Europe. European Journal of Population. ISSN 0168-6577. p. 1–33. doi: 10.1007/s10680-020-09562-0. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Educational differences in female cohort fertility vary strongly across high-income countries and over time, but knowledge about how educational fertility differentials play out at the sub-national regional level is limited. Examining these sub-national regional patterns might improve our understanding of national patterns, as regionally varying contextual conditions may affect fertility. This study provides for the first time for a large number of European countries a comprehensive account of educational differences in the cohort fertility rate (CFR) at the sub-national regional level. We harmonise data from population registers, censuses, and large-sample surveys for 15 countries to measure women’s completed fertility by educational level and region of residence at the end of the reproductive lifespan. In order to explore associations between educational differences in CFRs and levels of economic development, we link our data to regional GDP per capita. Empirical Bayesian estimation is used to reduce uncertainty in the regional fertility estimates. We document an overall negative gradient between the CFR and level of education, and notable regional variation in the gradient. The steepness of the gradient is inversely related to the economic development level. It is steepest in the least developed regions and close to zero in the most developed regions. This tendency is observed within countries as well as across all regions of all countries. Our findings underline the variability of educational gradients in women’s fertility, suggest that higher levels of development may be associated with less negative gradients, and call for more in-depth sub-national-level fertility analyses by education.

• Duvander, Ann-Zofie; Lappegård, Trude & Johansson, Mats (2020). Impact of a reform towards shared parental leave on continued fertility in Norway and Sweden. Population: Research and Policy Review. ISSN 0167-5923. 39(6), p. 1205–1229. doi: 10.1007/s11113-020-09574-y. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract It has been argued that a generous family policy aimed at a gender-equal division of childcare and economic responsibility will have a positive impact on childbearing. In this study, we investigate whether fathers’ parental leave use is related to continued childbearing and whether there has been a policy effect on fertility behavior due to the introduction of the father’s quota in Norway and Sweden. Fathers’ parental leave use may affect fertility by easing women’s work burden at home and thus enhancing the degree of compatibility between childrearing and female employment, and it may increase fathers’ interest in children and childcare. To distinguish causality from selection in the effects observed, we use the natural experiment of the introduction of the father’s quotas. The results indicate that the reforms did not influence fertility in Norway but that Swedish couples with a lower income had a temporary higher third-birth risk. Fathers in this group showed the greatest increase in leave use after the reform.

• Lappegård, Trude & Kornstad, Tom (2020). Social norms about father involvement and women's fertility. Social Forces. ISSN 0037-7732. 99(1), p. 398–423. doi: 10.1093/sf/soz124. Full text in Research Archive
• Kornrich, Sabino; Ruppanner, Leah & Lappegård, Trude (2020). Spending on Children across Four Countries: Variation in the Role of Income and Women's Labor Force Participation. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society. ISSN 1072-4745. 27(3), p. 562–587. doi: 10.1093/sp/jxz053. Full text in Research Archive
• Dommermuth, Lars; Kornstad, Tom & Lappegård, Trude (2019). Færre med store barneflokker – Hvilken betydning har endringer i kvinners arbeidstid for nedgangen i fødselstallene? Søkelys på arbeidslivet. ISSN 1504-8004. 36(3), p. 158–176. doi: 10.18261/issn.1504-7989-2019-03-04. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Andelen kvinner med minst tre barn har gått ned de siste tiårene i Norge, også blant grupper som vanligvis har fått mange barn. Samtidig har kvinnene i økende grad gått over fra å arbeide deltid til heltid. Vi undersøker i hvilken grad overgangen til heltidsarbeid kan forklare nedgangen i tredjefødsler blant kvinnelige lærere, sykepleiere og leger. Selv omheltidsansatte sykepleiere og lærere får færre barn enn deltidsansatte, finner vi at heltidsarbeid bare i noen grad kan forklare nedgangen i tredjefødsler. At færre kvinner velger å få tre barn kan dermed være et utrykk for endringer i preferanser for antall barn en ønsker seg.

• Duvander, Ann-Zofie; Lappegård, Trude; Andersen, Synøve Nygaard; Gardarsdóttir, Ólöf; Neyer, Gerda & Viklund, Ida (2019). Parental leave policies and continued childbearing in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Demographic Research. ISSN 1435-9871. 40, p. 1501–1528. doi: 10.4054/DEMRES.2019.40.51. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Demographic theories maintain that family policies that support gender equality may lead to higher fertility levels in postindustrial societies. This phenomenon is often exemplified by the situation in the Nordic countries. These countries have parental leave policies that promote a gender-equal work-care balance for both parents, and these countries have comparatively high fertility levels. However, very little is known about the association between these policies and childbearing at the individual level.

• Perelli-Harris, Brienna; Hoherz, Stefanie; Lappegård, Trude & Evans, Ann (2019). Mind the “Happiness” Gap: The Relationship Between Cohabitation, Marriage, and Subjective Well-being in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Norway. Demography. ISSN 0070-3370. 56(4), p. 1219–1246. doi: 10.1007/s13524-019-00792-4. Full text in Research Archive
• Lappegård, Trude; Duvander, Ann-Zofie; Neyer, Gerda; Viklund, Ida; Andersen, Synøve Nygaard & Garðarsdóttir, Ólöf (2019). Fathers’ Use of Parental Leave and Union Dissolution. European Journal of Population. ISSN 0168-6577. 36, p. 1–25. doi: 10.1007/s10680-019-09518-z. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  With increasing union dissolution and changing gender behaviour, questions have emerged about possible links between gender equality and union stability. The aim of this article is to examine whether and how early fathers’ involvement in child-rearing is associated with union dissolution in three Nordic countries. All three countries have reserved part of their parental leave to be used by one parent in order to promote fathers’ engagement in child-rearing. Our analysis uses fathers’ parental leave as a proxy for his involvement, and we distinguish between fathers who take no leave (“non-conforming fathers”), fathers who take only the reserved part (“policy-conforming fathers”) and fathers who take more than the reserved part (“gender-egalitarian-oriented fathers”). We find that couples in which the father uses parental leave have a lower risk of union dissolution than couples in which the father takes no leave. The pattern is consistent for all countries, for the whole study period 1993–2011, and for cohabiting and married couples. However, we do not find support for asserting that the couples with greatest gender equality, in which fathers take longer leave than the policy reserves, are the most stable unions, as the pattern is not uniform in the three countries. We attribute this to the fact that gender equality within the family in the Nordic countries is still an ongoing process, and the relationship between gender behaviour and union stability is still in flux.

• Frejka, Tomas; Goldscheider, Frances & Lappegård, Trude (2018). The two-part gender revolution, women?s second shift and changing cohort fertility. Comparative population studies. ISSN 1869-8980. 43, p. 99–130. doi: 10.12765/CPoS-2018-09en. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The two parts of the gender revolution have been evolving side by side at least since the 1960s. The fi rst part, women’s entry into the public sphere, proceeded faster than the second part, men’s entry into the private sphere. Consequently, many employed mothers have carried a greater burden of paid and unpaid family support than fathers throughout the second half of the 20th century. This constituted women’s “second shift,” depressing fertility. A central focus of this paper is to establish second shift trends during the second half of the 20th century and their effects on fertility. Our analyses are based on data on cohort fertility, male and female labor force particip ation, and male and female domestic hours worked from 11 countries in Northern Europe, Western/central Europe, Southern Europe, and North America between 1960/70 and 2000/2014. We fi nd that the gender revolution had not generated a turnaround, i.e. an increase in cohort fertility, by the end of the 20th century. Nevertheless, wherever the gender revolution has made progress in reducing women’s second shift, cohort fertility declined the least; where the second shift is large and/or has not been reduced, cohort fertility has declined the most.

• Jalovaara, Marika; Neyer, Gerda; Andersson, Gunnar; Dahlberg, Johan; Dommermuth, Lars & Fallesen, Peter [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2018). Education, Gender, and Cohort Fertility in the Nordic Countries. European Journal of Population. ISSN 0168-6577. 35(3), p. 563–586. doi: 10.1007/s10680-018-9492-2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Systematic comparisons of fertility developments based on education, gender and country context are rare. Using harmonized register data, we compare cohort total fertility and ultimate childlessness by gender and educational attainment for cohorts born beginning in 1940 in four Nordic countries. Cohort fertility (CTF) initially declined in all four countries, although for cohorts born in the 1950s and later, the CTF remained stable or declined only modestly. Childlessness, which had been increasing, has plateaued in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Women’s negative educational gradient in relation to total fertility has vanished, except in Finland, while men’s positive gradient has persisted. The highest level of men’s childlessness appears among the least educated. In the oldest female cohorts, childlessness was highest among the highly educated, but these patterns have changed over the cohorts as childlessness has increased among the low educated and remained relatively stable among higher educated women. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, childlessness is now highest among the least educated women. We witness both a new gender similarity and persistent (among men) and new (among women) educational disparities in childbearing outcomes in the Nordic region. Overall, the number of low educated has decreased remarkably over time. These population segments face increasing social and economic disadvantages that are reflected as well in their patterns of family formation.

• Perelli-Harris, Brienna; Hoherz, Stefanie; Addo, Fenaba; Lappegård, Trude; Evans, Ann & Sassler, Sharon [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2018). Do Marriage and Cohabitation Provide Benefits to Health in Mid-Life? The Role of Childhood Selection Mechanisms and Partnership Characteristics Across Countries. Population: Research and Policy Review. ISSN 0167-5923. 37(5), p. 703–728. doi: 10.1007/s11113-018-9467-3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Extensive research has found that marriage provides health benefits to individuals, particularly in the U.S. The rise of cohabitation, however, raises questions about whether simply being in an intimate co-residential partnership conveys the same health benefits as marriage. Here, we use OLS regression to compare differences between partnered and unpartnered, and cohabiting and married individuals with respect to self-rated health in mid-life, an understudied part of the lifecourse. We pay particular attention to selection mechanisms arising in childhood and characteristics of the partnership. We compare results in five countries with different social, economic, and policy contexts: the U.S. (NLSY), U.K. (UKHLS), Australia (HILDA), Germany (SOEP), and Norway (GGS). Results show that living with a partner is positively associated with self-rated health in mid-life in all countries, but that controlling for children, prior separation, and current socio-economic status eliminates differences in Germany and Norway. Significant differences between cohabitation and marriage are only evident in the U.S. and the U.K., but controlling for childhood background, union duration, and prior union dissolution eliminates partnership differentials. The findings suggest that cohabitation in the U.S. and U.K., both liberal welfare regimes, seems to be very different than in the other countries. The results challenge the assumption that only marriage is beneficial for health.

• Andersen, Synøve Nygaard; Drange, Nina Eirin & Lappegård, Trude (2018). Can a cash transfer to families change fertility behaviour? Demographic Research. ISSN 1435-9871. 38, p. 897–928. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.33. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Objective: This paper assesses the much-disputed relationship between family policy and fertility, and cash transfers and fertility in particular. Methods: We take advantage of a cash-for-care (CFC) policy introduced in Norway in 1998, and compare the subsequent fertility behaviour of eligible and ineligible mothers over a four-year period. We estimate linear models assessing both the occurrence and timing of second births, relying on a rich set of covariates and a sensitivity analysis to ensure the robustness of our results. Results: Contrary to theoretical expectations, the results show that CFC-eligible mothers had a slower progression to second births and lower short-term fertility. The patterns differ between different groups of mothers, and the decline in subsequent childbearing is only statistically significant among mothers with upper secondary (but not higher) education and part-time or full-time employment. We find no increase in short-term fertility in any group of mothers, and suggest that this pattern may be driven by an interaction between the CFC benefit and the already established Norwegian parental leave scheme. Contribution: The paper demonstrates how policy changes may indeed be associated with changes in fertility behaviour, and that this association may run in theoretically unexpected directions when a given policy is implemented in a wider policy framework. Moreover, it demonstrates how eligible parents may differ in their response to policies depending on the policy’s income effect and the parents’ opportunity costs of childbearing.

• Lappegård, Trude; Klüsener, Sebastian & Vignoli, Daniele (2018). Why are marriage and family formation increasingly disconnected across Europe? A multilevel perspective on existing theories. Population, Space and Place. ISSN 1544-8444. 24(2). doi: 10.1002/psp.2088. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Childbearing outside of marriage has increased drastically in recent decades. However, the existing explanations for this development are not coherent. Proponents of the Second Demographic Transition framework view the rise in nonmarital childbearing as part of a pattern of progress driven by processes such as emancipation from traditional social norms, whereas other scholars perceive this trend in the context of a “pattern of disadvantage,” as nonmarital births are often concentrated among lower socioeconomic groups. In this paper, we posit that the relevance of the aforementioned theoretical explanations might vary depending on the geographic scale at which variation occurs: that is, across nation states, subnational regions, or individuals. To explore this hypothesis, we analyse harmonised survey data from 16 European countries. We apply hierarchical models to study how the likelihood that a woman living in a couple will have her first child either within nonmarital cohabitation or within marriage is linked to national and subnational regional variation in socioeconomic conditions that are related to explanations based on the existing theoretical considerations. Our results suggest that the Second Demographic Transition framework is very important for understanding variation between countries, whereas arguments pointing to a pattern of disadvantage seem to be more relevant at the individual and subnational regional level. It thus appears that taking a multilevel perspective can help us better understand why the existing theoretical explanations are not fully coherent.

• Lappegård, Trude & Thomson, Elizabeth (2018). Intergenerational Transmission of Multipartner Fertility. Demography. ISSN 0070-3370. p. 1–24. doi: 10.1007/s13524-018-0727-y. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Using data from administrative registers for the period 1970–2007 in Norway and Sweden, we investigate the intergenerational transmission of multipartner fertility. We find that men and women with half-siblings are more likely to have children with more than one partner. The differences are greater for those with younger versus older half-siblings, consistent with the additional influence of parental separation that may not arise when one has only older half-siblings. The additional risk for those with both older and younger half-siblings suggests that complexity in childhood family relationships also contributes to multipartner fertility. Only a small part of the intergenerational association is accounted for by education in the first and second generations. The association is to some extent gendered. Half-siblings are associated with a greater risk of women having children with a new partner in comparison with men. In particular, maternal half-siblings are more strongly associated with multipartner fertility than paternal half-siblings only for women.

• Lappegård, Trude & Noack, Turid (2015). The link between parenthood and partnership in contemporary Norway - Findings from focus group research. Demographic Research. ISSN 1435-9871. 32(1), p. 287–310. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.9. Full text in Research Archive
• Dommermuth, Lars; Hohmann-Marriott, Bryndi & Lappegård, Trude (2015). Gender Equality in the Family and Childbearing. Journal of Family Issues. ISSN 0192-513X. 38(3), p. 1803–1824. doi: 10.1177/0192513X15590686. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Gender equality and equity in the division of household labor may be associated with couples’ transitions to first, second, and third births. Our comprehensive analysis includes the division of housework and child care as well as the perception of whether this division is fair and satisfactory. We use a unique data set combining the Norwegian Generations and Gender Survey (2007) with information on childbirths within 3 years after the interview from the population register. We found that an unequal division of housework is associated with a decreased chance of first and subsequent births. Child care is most relevant when the respondent is satisfied with the division, as one-child couples where the respondent is less satisfied with the division of child care are less likely to have a second child. Our findings suggest that, even in a high-equity context such as Norway, equality and equity in the household are also important for childbearing.

• Dommermuth, Lars; Klobas, Jane & Lappegård, Trude (2015). Realization of fertility intentions by different time frames. Advances in Life Course Research. ISSN 1569-4909. 24(June), p. 34–46. doi: 10.1016/j.alcr.2015.02.001. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper focuses on the realization of positive fertility intentions with different time frames. The analyses are based on a unique combination of survey data and information from Norwegian administrative registers on childbearing in the years following the complete selected sample. Guided by the theoretical and empirical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the results suggest that a fertility intention's time frame is relevant for childbearing behaviour, but the patterns are somewhat different for respondents who were childless at the time of the interview compared to those who already had children. Overall, childless were less likely to realize their fertility intentions than parents. Following the TPB, childless may underestimate the difficulty of acting on their intentions and therefore have more difficulty realizing their intentions, versus parents who take into account their ability to manage another child. The results also show that childless with an immediate fertility intention are more likely to succeed than those with a longer-term intention. Likewise, parents with an immediate fertility intention are more likely to realize their intention during the two first years after the interview, but after four years the childbearing rate was higher among those with longer-term fertility intentions.

• Goldscheider, Frances; Bernhardt, Eva & Lappegård, Trude (2015). The Gender Revolution: Theoretical Framework for Understanding New Family-Demographic Behavior. Population and Development Review. ISSN 0098-7921. doi: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2015.00045.x. Full text in Research Archive
• Vitali, Agnese; Aassve, Arnstein & Lappegård, Trude (2015). Diffusion of childbearing within cohabitation. Demography. ISSN 0070-3370. doi: 10.1007/s13524-015-0380-7. Full text in Research Archive
• Kjeldstad, Randi & Lappegård, Trude (2014). How Do Gender Values and Household Practices Cohere? Value-Practice Configurations in a Gender-egalitarian Context. NORA - Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research. ISSN 0803-8740. 22(3), p. 219–237. doi: 10.1080/08038740.2013.864703. Full text in Research Archive
• Thomson, Elizabeth; Lappegård, Trude; Carlson, Marcia; Evans, Ann & Gray, Edith (2014). Childbearing Across Partnerships in Australia, the United States, Norway, and Sweden. Demography. ISSN 0070-3370. 51(2), p. 485–508. doi: 10.1007/s13524-013-0273-6. Full text in Research Archive
• Lappegård, Trude (2013). Gender equality and fertility: Which equality matters? European Journal of Population. ISSN 0168-6577. 29, p. 245–272. doi: 10.1007/s10680-013-9292-7. Full text in Research Archive
• Lappegård, Trude & Rønsen, Marit (2013). Socioeconomic differentials in multi-partner fertility among fathers. Demography. ISSN 0070-3370. doi: 10.1007/s13524-012-0165-1. Full text in Research Archive
• Lappegård, Trude & Bringedal, Kristin Horn (2013). Stor oppslutning om fedrekvoten. In Brandth, Berit & Kvande, Elin (Ed.), Fedrekvoten og den farsvennlige velferdsstaten. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215021898. p. 29–41. Full text in Research Archive
• Wiik, Kenneth Aarskaug & Lappegård, Trude (2012). Relationship Quality in Marital and Cohabiting Unions across Europe. Journal of Marriage and Family. ISSN 0022-2445. 74(3), p. 389–398. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00967.x. Full text in Research Archive
• Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Lappegård, Trude (2012). A Typology of Work-Family Arrangements among Dual-Earner Couples in Norway. Family Relations. ISSN 0197-6664. 61(4), p. 671–685. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2012.00725.x. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A symmetrical family model of two workers/care-givers is a central political ambition in Norway as in many other Western European countries. In order to explore how common this family type is, we use a multinomial latent-class model and develop a typology of dual-earner couples with children based on the partners’ allocation of paid and unpaid work. Using data on 2,617 couples from the Norwegian Generations and Gender Survey (GGS), we estimate four classes, two of which are characterized by a fairly equal sharing of paid and unpaid work between the partners, and two of which have more traditional arrangements. Four out of ten couples belong to one of the gender-equal classes. Equal sharing is most likely when the partners are well educated and work regular hours and the father has public-sector employment. The most traditional practice is likely when the partners have less education, the mother has health problems, the father works in the private sector, and the partners work non-regular hours.

• Dommermuth, Lars; Klobas, Jane & Lappegård, Trude (2011). Now or later? The Theory of Planned Behavior and timing of fertility intentions. Advances in Life Course Research. ISSN 1569-4909. 16(1), p. 42–53. doi: 10.1016/j.alcr.2011.01.002. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article focuses on the time frame of intentions to have a child. For both parents and childless people we compare those who want a child now with those who intend to have a child within the next three years. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and using data from Norway (N = 1307), we investigate the role of attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control on these two different time frames in fertility intention. The results show that subjective norms have a significant effect on the timing of intentions to have a child for both childless people and parents: the more both groups feel that their intention to have a child is supported by their families and friends, the more likely they are to want a child now compared to within the next three years. It also shows that positive attitudes have a significant effect on intending to have a child now rather than later for parents but not for childless people. Perceived behavioural control is a significant determinant for both groups: people who consider themselves better able to cope with having child are more likely to intend to have a child now rather than within the next three years. But this effect disappears when we control for demographic background variables, suggesting that the effect of perceived control on the timing of having a child varies considerably with personal circumstances.

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• Dommermuth, Lars; Lappegård, Trude; Kravdal, Øystein; Lyngstad, Torkild Hovde & Tønnessen, Marianne (2026). (+) Demografifaget trenger et hjem. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Til tross for at befolkningsspørsmål er politisk brennbare, finnes det ikke noe samlet demografisk forskningsmiljø i Norge. Vi trenger minst ett nasjonalt senter for demografi.

• Dommermuth, Lars; Falnes-Dalheim, Elisabeth; Kong, Siyang; Krawczynska, Marta Anna; Lappegård, Trude & Rokos, Julia (2025). The Norwegian Generations and Gender Survey GGS-II Wave 2 (2024): Documentation of the data collection process. Zendo. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.14717153. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Technical documentation of the fieldwork of the Generations and Gender Survey-II Wave 2 in Norway

• Dommermuth, Lars; Matera, Camilla; Minello, Alessandra; Lappegård, Trude & Vignoli, Daniele (2022). The Formation of Fertility Intentions under Different Future Prospects. Full text in Research Archive
• Dommermuth, Lars; Lappegård, Trude; Matera, Camilla; Minello, Alessandra & Vignoli, Daniele (2022). The formation of fertility intentions under different future prospects. Full text in Research Archive
• Dommermuth, Lars; Lappegård, Trude; Kornstad, Tom & Kristensen, Axel Peter (2022). Understanding the positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's fertility in Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Lappegård, Trude; Kornstad, Tom; Dommermuth, Lars & Kristensen, Axel Peter (2022). Hvorfor gikk fødselstallene opp under covid-19-pandemien? 08.05.2022. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Hvorfor gikk fødselstallene opp under covid-19-pandemien? I 2021 har vi sett en økning i fødselstallene for første gang på 12 år. Økningen er for liten til at vi kan kalle det en «babyboom», og et samlet fruktbarhetstall på 1,55 er fortsatt historisk lavt. Men i motsetning til de aller fleste andre vestlige land hadde COVID-19-pandemien en positiv effekt på fødselstallene i Norge. Da vi gikk inn i pandemien, ventet vi en betydelig nedgang i fødselstallene. Vi argumenterte for at en slik nedgang i hovedsak ville komme som en reaksjon på den forventede økonomiske krisen i kjølvannet av nedstengningen og restriksjonene forårsaket av koronapandemien. Dette skjedde ikke. For å få mer kunnskap om hva som forklarer økningen i fødselstallene under pandemien, har vi i en ny studie undersøkt effektene av covid-19-pandemien på fødselstallene til ulike grupper av kvinner. Vi sammenlignet antall barn som ble unnfanget i perioden før nedstengingen 12. mars 2020, og antall barn som ble unnfanget i de åtte første månedene av pandemien. Pandemien rammet ulike deler av arbeidsmarkedet svært ulikt. Noen bransjer var hardt rammet av nedstengningen og restriksjonene knyttet til smitteverntiltak. Samtidig vet vi fra tidligere forskning at jobb og økonomisk trygghet er viktige forutsetninger når folk får barn. Mange ble permitterte eller arbeidsledige under pandemien. De opplevde dermed større økonomisk usikkerhet knyttet til hvorvidt de ville kunne forsørge seg selv og sin familie. Man vil derfor kunne ha ventet at det var store forskjeller i effekten av pandemien på fødselstallene mellom kvinner som jobber i ulike bransjer. Men bare blant kvinner i to sektorer finner vi en særskilt effekt av pandemien på fødselstall. For kvinner i servicesektoren ‒ som ble spesielt hardt rammet av restriksjonene ‒ fant vi en negativ effekt av pandemien på fødselstallene. Disse kvinnene fikk noe færre barn under pandemien enn de ellers ville gjort. Servicesektoren består hovedsakelig av unge kvinner og menn. Mange er i midlertidige og deltidsstillinger. I denne sektoren får kvinner også vanligvis færre barn. I motsetning til servicesektoren fant vi imidlertid en positiv pandemieffekt for kvinner som jobber i offentlig administrasjon. Der økte antall fødsler under pandemien. Dette er en del av offentlig sektor, hvor jobber lettere kunne utføres via hjemmekontor under nedstengningen. I Norge har de økonomiske kompensasjonsordningene på grunn av pandemien vært sjenerøse. De negative økonomiske konsekvensene har vært betydelig mindre enn mange fryktet. Dette bidrar til å forklare hvorfor pandemien ikke hadde en negativ effekt på fødselstallene i Norge. Det forklarer imidlertid ikke hvorfor pandemien har hatt en positiv effekt på fødselstallene og at de gikk opp i 2021. Studien vår viser ellers at den positive effekten av pandemien på fødselstallene i hovedsak var drevet av kvinner som allerede har barn. De befinner seg i aldersgruppen 28–35 år. Dette er kvinner i livsfaser hvor fødselstallene i utgangspunktet er høye. For dem som var i en økonomisk trygg situasjon – spesielt blant dem som allerede hadde planer om å få et barn til – kunne det å få barn under pandemien være gunstig. Mens mange mødre altså ser ut til å ha funnet det gunstig å utvide sin familie under pandemien, har det ikke vært en økning i antall kvinner som blir mødre for første gang. Utsettelse av førstefødsler er en av de viktigste driverne bak nedgangen i fødselstallene i Norge siden 2010. Det er forventet at mange av disse utsatte fødslene på et tidspunkt vil bli realisert. Vi finner imidlertid ingen slik opphenting av førstefødsler under pandemien, og i 2021 økte alderen for når kvinner får sitt første barn ytterligere. Mye tyder altså på at de mekanismene som gjør at mange unge kvinner i Norge venter med å få barn, ikke har endret seg under pandemien.

• Lappegård, Trude; Kornstad, Tom; Dommermuth, Lars & Kristensen, Axel Peter (2022). Understanding the positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s fertility in Norway. SSB - Discussion papers. ISSN 0809-733X. 2022(978). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on fertility in Norway at the individual level. Studies using data at the macro level have found a positive short-term effect of the pandemic on fertility level in Norway, but women’s fertility response to the pandemic may differ depending on their life situation. We use the first lockdown on March 12, 2020 as a marker of the pandemic and apply a regression discontinuity design to compare births of women that were conceived before the pandemic started with those conceived during the first eight months of the pandemic. The positive effect on women’s fertility in Norway was mainly driven by women in life phases that have generally high fertility rates (women aged 28–35 years and women who already have children). These groups are likely to be in an economic and socially secure and stable situation in which the restrictions due to the pandemic had limited influence. Besides two exceptions, we do not find differences in the effect of the pandemic on childbearing by women’s work situation. This is most likely related to the strong welfare state and the generous additional pandemic-related measures taken by the Norwegian government.

• Comolli, Chiara Ludovica; Neyer, Gerda; Andersson, Gunnar; Dommermuth, Lars; Fallesen, Peter & Jalovaara, Marika [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2021). Correction to: Beyond the Economic Gaze: Childbearing During and After Recessions in the Nordic Countries. European Journal of Population. ISSN 0168-6577. 37(2), p. 521–521. doi: 10.1007/s10680-021-09579-z. Full text in Research Archive
• Dommermuth, Lars & Lappegård, Trude (2021). The Generations and Gender Survey 2020 in Norway. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This is the third webinar of the GGP-Connect series. The webinar was held on the 25th of May at 13h00 (Amsterdam time). Lars Dommermuth (Statistics Norway) and Trude Lappegard (University of Oslo) talked about the GGS data collection in Norway. A unique aspect of the data collection is that it was completed using web-only. Moreover, the survey includes specific module on uncertainty in order to study the declining fertility visible in Nordic countries. The speakers provided some insights on the survey methodology and the lessons learnt.​

• Lappegård, Trude; Dommermuth, Lars & Kristensen, Axel Peter (2021). Føde flest mulig? Tida for høye fødselstall er over. Målet bør ikke være at det fødes flest mulig barn, men at alle kan få de barna de ønsker seg. 23.03.2021. Full text in Research Archive
• Comolli, Chiara Ludovica; Neyer, Gerda; Andersson, Gunnar; Dommermuth, Lars; Fallesen, Peter & Jalovaara, Marika [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2019). Beyond the Economic Gaze. Childbearing during and after recessions in the Nordic countries. Stockholm Research Reports in Demography. ISSN 2002-617X. 2019(16). doi: 10.17045/sthlmuni.8089028.v1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract: This study investigates fertility responses to the business cycle in the Nordic countries by comparing period variation in women’s childbearing propensity. We harmonize register data from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to compare childbearing in the aftermath of the two most recent crises that hit those economies: the 1990s and 2010s. We use event-history techniques to present parity-specific fertility, by calendar year, relative to a defined pre-recession year. We further examine any possible impact of the two recessions by women’s age and education. Results show a large heterogeneity across the five Nordic countries in the childbearing developments after 1990. This variation largely disappears after 2008 when period trends in birth hazards become more similar across countries. Likewise, the educational differences that characterized the variation in childbearing relative risk after 1990 considerably diminish in the years after 2010, especially for first and second births. Economic theories do not suffice to explain this reversal from the heterogeneity of the 1990s to the homogeneity of the 2010s in the childbearing response to recession episodes across countries and socioeconomic groups. Our findings suggest the need to expand the theoretical framework explaining the cyclicality of fertility towards the perception of economic and welfare uncertainty.

• Nisén, Jessica; Klüsener, Sebastian; Dahlberg, Johan; Dommermuth, Lars; Jasilioniene, Aiva & Kreyenfeld, Michaela [Show all 17 contributors for this article] (2019). Educational differences in cohort fertility across sub-national regions in Europe. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. 2019(018). doi: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2019-018. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Educational differences in female cohort fertility have been shown to vary across high-income countries and over time, but knowledge about how educational fertility differentials play out at the sub-national regional level is limited. Examining these sub-national regional patterns might improve our understanding of national patterns, as regionally varying contextual conditions may affect fertility. This study provides for the first time for a large number of European countries a comprehensive account of educational differences in the cohort fertility rate (CFR) at the sub-national regional level. We harmonise data from population registers, censuses, and large-sample surveys for 15 countries in order to measure women’s completed fertility by educational level and region of residence at the end of the reproductive lifespan. In order to explore associations between educational differences in CFRs and levels of economic development, we link our data to regional estimates of GDP per capita. Empirical Bayesian estimation is used to reduce uncertainty in the regional fertility estimates. Our results document an overall negative gradient between the CFR and level of education, and notable variation in the gradient across regions. The gradient varies systematically by the level of economic development: moving from less to more developed regions, we observe smaller gradients both across countries and within countries. However, the within-country patterns of countries differ. Our findings underline the variability of educational gradients in women’s fertility, suggest that higher levels of development may be associated with less negative gradients, and call for more in-depth fertility analyses by education at the sub-national level.

• Lappegård, Trude; Goldscheider, Frances & Bernhardt, Eva (2017). Introduction to the special collection on finding work-life balance: History, determinants, and consequences of new breadwinning models in the industrialized world. Demographic Research. ISSN 1435-9871. 37(1), p. 853–866. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.26. Full text in Research Archive
• Lappegård, Trude & Dommermuth, Lars (2015). Hvorfor faller fruktbarheten i Norge? Økonomiske analyser. ISSN 0800-4110. 34(4), p. 36–47. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Det har vært en langvarig trend i at kvinner utsetter når de får sitt første barn, men etter 2009 var det en sterkere utsettelse enn tidligere på 2000-tallet. I tillegg har det vært en langvarig trend i at andelen kvinner som får tre eller flere barn har gått ned. Begge forhold bidrar til nedgangen i samlet fruktbarhetstall siden 2010.

• Goldscheider, Frances; Bernhardt, Eva & Lappegård, Trude (2014). Studies of Men's Involvement in the Family-Part 1: Introduction. Journal of Family Issues. ISSN 0192-513X. 35(7), p. 879–890. doi: 10.1177/0192513X14522237. Full text in Research Archive
• Veenstra, Marijke; Dommermuth, Lars; Blekesaune, Morten; Koløen, Kristine; Hansen, Thomas & Herlofson, Katharina [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2012). The ACCESS Life Course Research Infrastructure – a Norwegian based infrastructure facilitating access to high quality life course data. Full text in Research Archive
• Brunborg, Helge; Slagsvold, Britt & Lappegård, Trude (2009). LOGG 2007 - en stor undersøkelse om livsløp, generasjon og kjønn. Samfunnsspeilet : Tidsskrift om levekår og livsstil. ISSN 0801-7603. 23(1), p. 2–8. Full text in Research Archive
• Dommermuth, Lars & Lappegård, Trude (2021). The Norwegian Generations and Gender Survey, Round 2 - Wave 1 (2020). Documentation of the data collection process. Technical working paper. Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute.. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In September 2020, Statistics Norway (SSB) (represented by the Research department of Statistics Norway) and the Central-hub of the Generations and Gender Programme (GGP) (represented by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute at the Royal Netherland Academy of Arts and Science (NIDI-KNAW)) agreed on to conduct a data collection of the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) in Norway. In a service agreement between SSB and GGP, SSB was defined as the data provider, especially responsible to develop a sampling methodology and sample design for the survey in accordance with GGP technical guidelines and for sample management activities including the construction and maintenance of the sample. GGP was defined as the central coordinator, providing support in the pre-fieldwork phase, during the fieldwork and monitoring the fieldwork, as well as to provide data cleaning and checking (harmonization) and dissemination services of the collected data.

• Bergsvik, Janna; Lappegård, Trude & Kravdal, Øystein (2021). Couples in context: Understanding family dynamics in Norway. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This thesis studies how fertility, couple specialization and union stability in Norway are interrelated and linked to wider social structures such as family policy, gender roles and neighborhoods. It consists of an introduction and five independent articles: One based on a systematic review of international studies on effects of policy measures on fertility and four based on empirical analyses of Norwegian register data using descriptive and quasi-experimental techniques. With declining birth rates since 2009, fertility has received political attention in Norway. The literature review shows that the generous Norwegian family policies may have helped to elevate fertility levels. Yet, empirical analyses from this thesis show that children still entail income losses for women, and increasingly for young men too. Furthermore, the finding that couples break up more frequently if the woman earns more than the man shows that gender roles continue to be important in Norway in influencing family behavior. Empirical analyses also point to housing and family-friendly infrastructure as key factors for families, as couples with many children select into the same types of neighborhoods.

• Dommermuth, Lars & Lappegård, Trude (2017). Nedgangen i fruktbarheten fra 2010: Betydningen av utdanning, økonomisk aktivitet og økonomiske ressurser for førstefødsler og tredjefødsler. Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB). ISSN 9788253795379. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Etter årtusenskiftet økte samlet fruktbarhetstall (SFT) fra 1,75 barn per kvinne i 2002 til 1,98 barn per kvinne i 2009. Siden 2010 har SFT falt hvert eneste år og i 2016 var SFT 1,71 barn per kvinne. Vi må tilbake til 1986 for å finne tilsvarende lave tall for SFT. Formålet med analysene i denne rapporten er å få mer kunnskap om hvorfor SFT har gått ned fra 2010 og vi tar utgangspunkt i to viktige årsaker til nedgangen i SFT. For det første har det blitt observert en økning i alder ved førstefødsler og for det andre har det vært en nedgang i tredjefødselsrater. Nedgangen i SFT kom i kjølevannet av finanskrisen og et sentralt spørsmål er hvorvidt endringer i den generelle økonomiske situasjonen og rammebetingelsene på arbeidsmarkedet i Norge har bidratt til nedgangen i SFT. I denne rapporten fokuserer vi på betydningen av kvinners økonomiske aktivitet, utdanning og økonomiske ressurser for førstefødsler og for tredjefødsler.

• Dommermuth, Lars; Hart, Rannveig Kaldager; Lappegård, Trude; Rønsen, Marit & Wiik, Kenneth Aarskaug (2015). Kunnskapsstatus om fruktbarhet og samliv i Norge. Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB). ISSN 9788253791753. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Rapporten gir en oppdatert oversikt over norske studier på områdene fruktbarhet og samliv. Til tross for nedgang de siste årene, ligger fruktbarheten i Norge fortsatt høyere enn i de fleste andre europeiske land. Kunnskapsstatusen viser at det er en nær sammenheng mellom fruktbarheten og en rekke ulike faktorer, som sosioøkonomiske ressurser. På noen områder er det gjort flere studier enn på andre. Det er blant annet blitt gjort en rekke studier av sammenhengen mellom utdanning og fruktbarhet. De senere årene har det også vært gjort flere studier av ulike sider av samliv og parforhold og fruktbarhet. Sammenhengen mellom fruktbarhet og familiepolitikk har også vært en sentral del av fruktbarhetsforskningen. De fleste nordmenn gifter seg fortsatt, men ekteskapene inngås senere i livet. Alderen ved første samlivsinngåelse har imidlertid endret seg lite. En viktig grunn til denne utviklingen er økningen i samboerskap. De fleste nyere studier av samlivsinngåelse tar hensyn til denne utviklingen ved å inkludere samboerskap, og det er i den senere tid gjort en rekke studier av forskjeller mellom samboerskap og ekteskap. Forskningen på samlivsområdet har etter hvert også inkludert personer med innvandrerbakgrunn og likekjønnede par. Men fortsatt finnes det få studier av samboeres partnervalg og brudd blant samboerpar.

• Kitterød, Ragni Hege & Lappegård, Trude (2010). A typology of work-family arrangmenets among dual-earner couples in Norway. Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB). Full text in Research Archive
• Wiik, Kenneth Aarskaug; Lappegård, Trude & Keizer, Renske (2010). Relationship quality in Europe. Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this study, we utilize data from the first wave of the Generations and Gender Surveys to investigate relationship quality among currently married and cohabiting individuals aged 18 to 55 (N = 41, 666) in eight European countries (Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Romania, Russia, and the Netherlands). Controlling for a range of characteristics of respondents and their partners, the analyses show that cohabitors in general more often have breakup plans and are less satisfied than those married. We expected to find fewer differences between cohabitation and marriage in countries where cohabitation is widespread. Correspondingly, we find that the difference between marriage and cohabitation is largest in Russia, Romania, Germany and Bulgaria.

• Lappegård, Trude & Løwe, Torkil (2009). Barnehagedeltakelse og foreldrebetaling etter sosial bakgrunn - Tabellnotat. Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB). doi: https:/www.ssb.no/utdanning/artikler-og-publikasjoner/barnehagedeltakelse-og-foreldrebetaling-etter-sosial-bakgrunn. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Dette notatet er utarbeidet av Statistisk sentralbyrå på oppdrag fra Kunnskapsdepartementet. Departementet ønsker oppdatert statistikk over barnehagedeltakelse og foreldrebetaling for ulike sosiale grupper.

• Lorentzen, Marit & Lappegård, Trude (2009). Likestilling og deling av omsorgsoppgaver for barn. Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Vi skal analysere heterofile par (det er for få samme kjønns par til at man kan analysere dem) og se hvordan mor og far fordeler seks ulike omsorgsoppgaver. Målet er å finne uthvor mange par som er likestilte og hva som kjennetegner dem.

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