The relationship between Civil Unions and fertility in France: Preliminary evidence |
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Authors: | Emilio Gutiérrez Pablo Suárez Becerra |
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Affiliation: | (1) Instituto Tecnol?gico Aut?nomo de M?xico, Av. Camino Santa Teresa # 930, Col. H?roes de Padierna, 10700 Mexico, D.F., Mexico;(2) Department of Economics, Brown University, 64 Waterman St., Providence, RI 02912, USA |
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Abstract: | This paper explores the relationship between fertility and the introduction of new laws regulating cohabitation, in a context
of low fertility and high out of wedlock childbearing. We show that in France, while fertility and marriage rates moved closely
together before 1999, since the introduction (in 1999) of the “Pacte Civil de Solidarité” (PACS)—a cohabitation contract less
binding than marriage—this relationship is much weaker. Surprisingly, legal unions (defined as marriage plus PACS) and fertility
continue to move together after this date. We provide evidence of the relationship between the introduction of PACS and fertility,
utilizing the regional variation in the number of PACS per woman (PACS intensity) and the differences in fertility before
and after 1999. We show that French Departments with high PACS intensity did not show a different trend in fertility before
1999 than those with low PACS intensity (excluding Metropolitan Paris). However, they did experience an increase in their
fertility levels after the introduction of PACS. This suggests the need to collect better and more detailed data, in order
to assess whether the recent increases in French fertility can be partially explained by the availability of PACS. |
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