Parental Leave and Fertility: Individual-Level Responses in the Tempo and Quantum of Second and Third Births.

Previous studies have documented varying fertility responses to changes in parental leave provisions. We contribute to this literature by investigating the effects on the transition to second and third births of a policy reform that introduced generous earnings-dependent parental leave benefit in Estonia in 2004. Our study employs a mixture cure model, a model with some useful properties that has been seldom applied in fertility research. The advantage of the cure model over conventional event history models is the ability to distinguish the effect of the covariates on the propensity to have a next child from their effect on the tempo of childbearing. The results show that the transition to next birth accelerated as parents responded to so-called speed premium, a feature that allowed them to avoid a reduction in benefits caused by a reduction of earned income between births, through the closer spacing of births. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the introduction of generous earning-related parental leave was associated with a substantial increase in the progression to both second and third births.

The Role of Neighbourhood and Workplace Ethnic Contexts in the Formation of Inter-ethnic Partnerships: A Native Majority Perspective.

Although inter-ethnic encounters take place in multiple domains of daily life, ethnic intermarriage has typically been studied in relation to places of residence but rarely in relation to workplaces. Focussing on migrants is the most common approach to the study of intermarriage, whereas focussing on native majority population is less frequent. This study investigates an extent to which the share of immigrants at the workplace establishment and in the residential neighbourhood influences the natives' likelihood of choosing a foreign-born partner. The analysis is based on longitudinal register data that cover all residents of Finland in 1999-2014. We focus on native Finnish women and men born from 1981 to 1995. We estimated a discrete-time event history model with competing risks, distinguishing the first-partnership formation with a foreign-born partner and a native-born partner. The share of immigrants in the residential neighbourhood and workplace both increase the propensity of choosing a foreign-born partner, but the share of immigrants in workplace tends to have a stronger bearing on the partner choice. High exposure to other ethnic groups in one domain is associated with reduced effect of the additional exposure occurring in another domain. The effect of ethnic diversity at workplace tends to be more pronounced among women. The study contributes to the literature by examining both the independent effect of residential and workplace contexts on the formation of ethnically mixed partnership among the native majority population, as well as the interaction between the two.

Survival and sex composition of offspring: Individual-level responses in the quantum and tempo of childbearing during the demographic transition.

Previous studies have documented varying fertility responses to childhood mortality and to the sex composition of the surviving offspring during the demographic transition. We contribute to this literature by applying a mixture cure model to reproductive histories of Estonian women born 1850-99. This model, unlike standard event history models, is capable of separating the effect of the covariates on the propensity of having another birth from their effect on its timing. Child fatalities, not having sons, and to a smaller extent, not having daughters, increased the propensity to have another child and decreased the interval to it. The response was stronger among later cohorts, but only with respect to parity progression. By contrast, the accelerated childbearing response diminished over time. Our findings suggest that behavioural responses in the quantum and tempo of childbearing can occur relatively independently.

Seeding the gender revolution: Women's education and cohort fertility among the baby boom generations.

In Europe and the United States, women's educational attainment started to increase around the middle of the twentieth century. The expected implication was fertility decline and postponement, whereas in fact the opposite occurred. We analyse trends in the quantum of cohort fertility among the baby boom generations in 15 countries and how these relate to women's education. Over the 1901-45 cohorts, the proportion of parents with exactly two children rose steadily and homogeneity in family sizes increased. Progression to a third child and beyond declined in all the countries, continuing the ongoing trends of the fertility transition. In countries with a baby boom, and especially among women with post-primary education, this was compensated for by decreasing childlessness and increasing progression to a second child. These changes, linked to earlier stages of the fertility transition, laid the foundations for later fertility patterns associated with the gender revolution.

The impact of water supply and sanitation on infant mortality: Individual-level evidence from Tartu, Estonia, 1897-1900.

Evidence from a number of historical studies has demonstrated a strong impact of the provision of clean water on mortality risks, while no clear effect has been reported in others. We investigated the relationship between water supply, sanitation, and infant survival in Tartu, a university town in Estonia, 1897-1900. Based on data from parish registers, which were linked to the first census of the Russian Empire, the analysis reveals a clear disadvantage for infants in households using surface water, compared with families that acquired water from groundwater or artesian wells. The impact is stronger in the later stages of infancy. Competing-risk analysis shows that the effect is more pronounced for deaths caused by diseases of the digestive system. Our findings suggest that it may have been possible to improve the water supply, and consequently reduce infant mortality, before the introduction of piped water and sewage systems.

Non-fatal injuries resulting in activity limitations in Estonia--risk factors and association with the incidence of chronic conditions and quality of life: a retrospective study among the population aged 20-79.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence about the health and quality-of-life outcomes of injuries is obtained mainly from follow-up studies of surviving trauma patients; population-based studies are rarer, in particular for countries in Eastern Europe. This study examines the incidence, prevalence and social variation in non-fatal injuries resulting in activity limitations and outcomes of injuries in Estonia. DESIGN: A retrospective population-based study. SETTING: Estonia. PARTICIPANTS: 7855 respondents of the face-to-face interviews of the second round of the Estonian Family and Fertility Survey conducted between 2004 and 2005 based on the nationally representative probability sample (n=11 192) of the resident population of Estonia aged 20-79. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The cumulative incidence and prevalence of injuries leading to activity limitations was estimated. Survival models were applied to analyse variations in the injury risk across sociodemographic groups. The association between injuries and the development of chronic conditions and quality of life was examined using survival and logistic regression models. RESULTS: 10% (95% CI 9.4 to 10.7) of the population aged 20-79 had experienced injuries leading to activity limitations; the prevalence of activity limitations due to injuries was 4.4% (95% CI 3.9% to 4.9%). Significant differences in injury risk were associated with gender, education, employment, marital status and nativity. Limiting injury was associated with a doubling of the likelihood of having chronic conditions (adjusted HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.58 to 2.46). Injury exhibited a statistically significant negative association with most quality-of-life measures. Although reduced, these effects persisted after recovery from activity limitations. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial variation in injury risk across population groups suggests potential for prevention. Men and workers in manual occupations constitute major target groups for injury prevention in Estonia. The association of injury with the development of chronic conditions and reduced quality of life warrants further investigation.

Self-reported activity limitations among the population aged 20-79 in Estonia: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Along with population ageing, limitations in activities of daily living constitute a rising health-related burden in demographically advanced countries. The present study aims to assess the prevalence of self-reported activity limitations derived from chronic conditions and social variation of limitations in the subgroups of the population aged 20-79 years in Estonia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study employs data from the second round of the Estonian Family and Fertility Survey, a national project in the framework of Gender and Generation Programme. The target population covers age groups of 20-79 years. A nationally representative probability sample was drawn from the 2000 population census. Face-to-face interviews (n = 7855) were conducted in 2004-05. RESULTS: The estimated prevalence of activity limitations with chronic conditions is 18.5% (95% CI 17.6-19.4) and the prevalence of severe limitations is 10.6% (95% CI 9.9-11.3) among the population. The logistic regression model shows significant differences in activity limitations associated with age, educational attainment and marital status. CONCLUSIONS: Judging from our results and the EU structural indicators on health, the prevalence of activity limitations derived from chronic conditions is comparatively high in Estonia. The measures to prevent activity limitations and disability should receive a higher priority in Estonia.