In this article, Ana Fostik et al. (2023) analyse the relationship between union instability and cumulated fertility among ever-partnered women in several regions across Europe and the Americas with different patterns of demographic behaviour in terms of fertility levels, union instability and fertility across partnerships. The analysis is performed on a large dataset of 25 countries, combining information from the Harmonised Histories of the Generation and Gender Programme with harmonisation of survey data from three Latin American countries. This allows for the inclusion of countries with differing prevalence of union instability as measured by (a) the proportion of women who separated by age 40, and (b) the proportion who repartnered by age 40. Despite observing a high degree of heterogeneity in the proportions of births occurring in the context of repartnering both within and between regions, the authors find a pattern where a greater prevalence of repartnering by age 40 is accompanied by higher cumulated fertility in second or subsequent unions. The findings reveal a negative statistical relationship between separation and cumulated fertility that is partially offset by repartnering in some contexts, and that the time spent in a union during the reproductive lifespan is a key determinant of cumulated fertility, regardless of national context and independently from age at union formation and union rank.
Fostik, A., Fernández Soto, M., Ruiz-Vallejo, F. et al. Union Instability and Fertility: An International Perspective. European Journal of Population 39, 25 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-023-09668-1
