Political regimes and the family: how sex-role attitudes continue to differ in reunified Germany

We exploit the German separation and later reunification to investigate whether political regimes can shape attitudes about appropriate roles for women in the family and the labor market. During the divided years, East German institutions encouraged female employment, while the West German system deterred women, in particular mothers, from full-time employment. Our results show that East Germans are significantly more likely to hold egalitarian sex-role attitudes than West Germans. Despite a scenario of partial policy convergence after reunification, we find no evidence for a convergence process in gender attitudes. Indeed, if anything, the gap in attitudes rather increased.     

German Reunification: Welfare Gains and Losses East and West

A framework of welfare accounts (Juster and Stafford, 1985; Headey, 1993; see also Goodin et al., 1999) is used to assess gains and losses to East and West Germans in the post-reunification period, 1990–1997. The welfare accounts have three segments: a capital/stocks account, an income/flows account and a subjective welfare/psychic income account. This framework differs from conventional welfare economic accounts in explicitly defining and measuring welfare in psychological terms ... as perceived utility/satisfaction. It has recently been argued that this approach is required, if one accepts that individual utilities are not exogenous but are affected by changing comparisons with others (Duesenberry, 1949; Easterlin, 1974, 1995; Hollaender, 2001). Our hypotheses are that in the post-reunification period West German welfare was sacrificed – in all three segments of the accounts – in order to permit resources to flow to East Germans and to boost their stocks, flows and utilities. The hypotheses are supported in the case of West Germans, but results are mixed for East Germans. Our data source is the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) which began in 1984 in West Germany and has involved reinterviewing a very large representative national sample every year since. The panel was extended to East Germany in June 1990, before formal reunification occurred, and so provides a picture of stocks, flows and utilities before the effects of integration into the Federal Republic were felt.     

The German East-West Mortality Difference: Two Crossovers Driven by Smoking

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, mortality was considerably higher in the former East Germany than in West Germany. The gap narrowed rapidly after German reunification. The convergence was particularly strong for women, to the point that Eastern women aged 50–69 now have lower mortality despite lower incomes and worse overall living conditions. Prior research has shown that lower smoking rates among East German female cohorts born in the 1940s and 1950s were a major contributor to this crossover. However, after 1990, smoking behavior changed dramatically, with higher smoking intensity observed among women in the eastern part of Germany. We forecast the impact of this changing smoking behavior on East-West mortality differences and find that the higher smoking rates among younger East German cohorts will reverse their contemporary mortality advantage. Mortality forecasting methods that do not account for smoking would, perhaps misleadingly, forecast a growing mortality advantage for East German women. Experience from other countries shows that smoking can be effectively reduced by strict anti-smoking policies. Instead, East Germany is becoming an example warning of the consequences of weakening anti-smoking policies and changing behavioral norms.     

Has East Germany Overtaken West Germany? Recent Trends in Order‐Specific Fertility

Some 20 years after reunification, the contrast between East and West Germany offers a natural experiment for studying the degree of persistence of Communist-era family patterns, the effects of economic change, and fertility postponement. After reunification, period fertility rates plummeted in the former East Germany to record low levels. Since the mid-1990s, however, period fertility rates have been rising in East Germany, in contrast to the nearly constant rates seen in the West. By 2008, the TFR of East Germany had overtaken that of the West. We explore why fertility in East Germany is higher than in West Germany, despite unfavorable economic circumstances in the East. We address this and related questions by (a) presenting an account of the persisting East/West differences in attitudes toward and constraints on childbearing, (b) conducting an order-specific fertility analysis of recent fertility trends, and (c) projecting completed fertility for the recent East and west German cohorts. In addition to using the Human Fertility Database, perinatal statistics allow us to calculate a tempo-corrected TFR for East and West Germany.     

Heterogeneity in Trajectories of Life Satisfaction After Reunification: The Role of Individual Resources and Life Stage in Former East Germany

Social Indicators Research - For people living in the former East Germany, reunification with the former West Germany fundamentally transformed the sociopolitical system and most domains of...     

What Shapes Satisfaction with Democracy? Interests,Morals, and the German East–West Divide

Social Indicators Research - Thirty years after reunification, East and West Germany are still characterized by a considerable difference in satisfaction with democracy (SWD). This paper proposes...     

Marriage and separation risks among German cohabiters: Differences between types of cohabiter

We propose a typology of different meanings of cohabitation that combines cohabiters’ intentions to marry with a general attitude toward marriage, using competing risk analyses to examine whether some cohabiters are more prone than others to marry or to separate. Using data (N = 1,258) from four waves of the German Family Panel (PAIRFAM) and a supplementary study (DEMODIFF), we compared eastern and western German cohabiters of the birth cohorts 1971–73 and 1981–83. Western Germans more frequently view cohabitation as a step in the marriage process, whereas eastern Germans more often cohabit as an alternative to marriage. Taking into account marital attitudes reveals that cohabiters without marriage plans differ from those with plans in their relationship careers, and also shows that cohabiters who plan to marry despite holding a less favourable view of marriage are less likely to realize their plans than cohabiters whose intentions and attitudes are more congruent.     

Social bonding and loneliness after network disruption: A longitudinal study of East German refugees

After the 1989 breakdown of the communist system, 235 East Germans were interviewed three times during the two years following their transition to West Berlin. In moving to the west, the migrants had to deal with various stressors, among them the lack of social ties in their new environment. Fortunately, the number of their new friends increased steadily, and loneliness declined. These changes, however, differed between sexes and age groups. Men made more friends than women, in particular same-sex friends, whereas women knitted ties with both sexes. The young built larger networks than the intermediate age group. Loneliness emerged as an inhibiting factor in the bonding process. The study demonstrates how well these refugees coped with a social crisis. It also examines the roles that loneliness and social bonding played in the readjustment process.     

The erosion of union membership in Germany: determinants, densities, decompositions

Unionization in Germany has declined considerably during the last two decades. We estimate the impact of socioeconomic and workplace-related variables on union membership by means of Chamberlain-Mundlak correlated random effects probit models, using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Drawing on the estimates, we project net union densities (NUD) and analyze the differences between East and West Germany, as well as the corresponding changes in NUD over time. Nonlinear Blinder-Oaxaca-type decompositions show that changes in the composition of the work force have only played a minor role for the deunionization trends in West and East Germany. In West-East comparison, differences in the characteristics of the work force reflect a lower quality of membership matches in East Germany right after German unification.     

The savings behavior of temporary and permanent migrants in Germany

This paper examines the relative savings position of migrant households in West Germany paying particular attention to differences between temporary and permanent migrants. Our findings reveal significant differences in the savings rates between German natives and immigrants. If remittances are treated as savings, however, migrants who intend to return to their home country save significantly more than comparable natives. The results of a decomposition analysis indicate that slightly more than half of the differences in the savings rate between Germans and permanent migrants and almost 70% between temporary and permanent migrants can be attributed to differences in observable characteristics.     

Women's transitions in the labour market: a competing risks analysis on German panel data

This paper analyses the transitions between the three states of non-employment, part-time and full-time work of a sample of married women living in West Germany. The questions addressed concern the dynamics of women's labour market transitions and the association of the probability of transition with household and individual characteristics. A non-parametric duration analysis shows that women have a similar attachment to full-time and part-time work in terms of survival, and that survival in non-employment is shorter than in the other two states. Estimates of a parametric discrete-time competing risks duration model show that wives of retired husbands go into full-time work, children under 3 years have a disincentive effect on part-time work and that part-time work is a state that German women prefer to stay in and not a first step to full-time employment, whereas foreign women living in West Germany prefer full-time jobs.I thank Rebecca Blank, John F. Ermisch, Siv Gustafsson, John Micklewright, Pravin Trivedi, Jane Waldfogel and two anonymous referees for helpful discussions and comments, and Hans-Peter Blossfeld for providing access to these data through his research project at the European University Institute of Florence. Responsible editors: Siv S. Gustafsson, John F. Ermisch     

Sex-role attitudes and employment status as predictors of perceived life satisfaction among married women in Korea

The focus of this exploratory study is on reexamining the relationship between sex role attitudes and the employment status of married women in Korea, and exploring the nature and extent of women's sex role attitudes and employment status on their life satisfaction (marriage, family, work). Multicluster sampling was used to select 418 women from the city of Seoul. The Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS) (Spence and Helmreich) was used to measure the concept of sex role attitudes. Life satisfaction was measured by 3 questions: ALLSAT, a general feeling; IGA for the general effect based on Osgood's semantic differential scales; and work status and voluntariness. Background characteristics are given. The results revealed that there was an independent relationship between sex role attitudes and employment status. Based on willingness to work groups (4), those who worked involuntarily had the most conservative sex role attitudes, and those involuntarily nonworking had the most liberal attitudes. When education background was controlled for, there were no significant differences between working and nonworking women and sex role attitudes. There was little relationship observed between sex role attitudes and overall satisfaction. When controlling for employment status, however, sex role attitudes and the relationship to work satisfaction was statistically significant among fulltime housewives, who had conservative attitudes. In fact, fulltime housewives reported greater satisfaction with their role as homemaker than those with liberal sex role attitudes. Women's attitudes and their actual roles has a greater influence on women's life satisfaction than sex role attitudes. Overall, working women are more satisfied with work and overall life than are nonworking women, when the mean satisfaction scored all 6 indicators are used in a 1 way analysis of variance. There were no significant differences in satisfaction with marriage or family life between working and nonworking women. When the intervening variable willingness to work is introduced, this plus employment status affects life satisfaction. The discrepancy between women's sex role attitudes and their work status produces the greatest dissatisfaction. The multiple regression of background variables affecting sex role attitudes shows that parent's encouragement for a woman to work has the strongest effect. Educational attainment has a positive effect on sex role attitudes, and among less well education has a negative effect and positive effect among those well educated, Husband's income is significantly higher than that for working women. Another model expressing reciprocal relations between marriage, family and work satisfaction was generated. Improvements are suggested for future research.     

What's happening to marriage in East Asia?

This article presents an overview of marriage patterns in East Asia. Globally, marriage patterns are changing. In East Asia, cultural patterns are slowing the changes in attitude toward marriage that are occurring in the West. There are implications of changing attitudes for government planners. This issue of Asia-Pacific Population and Policy is based on a series of studies of marriage and family life in Japan, South Korea, and the US. Data were obtained from the 1994 Japan Survey on Work and Family Life; the 1994 South Korea Survey on the Quality of Life; and the 1992-94 US Survey of Families and Households. Findings are reported on marriage age, attitudes toward marriage, attitudes post-marriage, and work patterns during marriage. Both Japan and South Korea have below replacement level fertility and traditional gendered division of labor in the household. In South Korea, women who work 35 or more hours/week spend 31 hours/week on housework, while husbands contribute 14 hours/week. In the US, the equivalent figures were 26 hours for full-time working wives and 9 hours for husbands. In Japan, wives spent 30 hours on housework, while husbands spent 3 hours. Full-time work outside the home involved 57% of married women in Japan, 27% in South Korea, and 66% in the US. Notwithstanding the double burden, women in South Korea and Japan experience pressure from competitive school systems for their children. After-school academic programs are expensive. The trend is for greater reluctance to marry. Replacement level fertility is unlikely unless full equality is achieved in the family.     

Welfare state context,female labour-market attachment and childbearing in Germany and Denmark

This study investigates the role of female labour-market attachment and earnings in childbearing progressions in two very different European contexts. By applying event-history techniques to German and Danish register data during 1981–2001, we demonstrate how female earnings relate to first, second and third birth propensities. Our study shows that female earnings are positively associated with first birth fertility in Denmark, while this is not the case in West Germany. We interpret our findings based on the fact that Danish social context and policy encourage women to establish themselves in the labour market before becoming mothers, while the German institutional context during the 1980s and 1990s was not geared towards encouraging maternal employment. For higher-order births, the results are less clearcut. For Denmark we find a slightly positive correlation between female earnings and second-birth fertility, while the association is somewhat negative for third-order births. In Germany, women tend to leave the labour market when becoming mothers. Non-employed mothers have elevated second and, in particular, third-birth rates. For the group of mothers who are employed, we find only a weak association between their earnings and higher-order fertility.     

Explaining cross-cultural variations in age at marriage and proportions never marrying

Abstract According to censuses taken around 1960, the distinction between the 'European' pattern of late marriage and high proportions never married and the 'traditional' pattern of early and universal marriage remains generally valid for female populations in spite of trends toward convergence in the past few decades. Among male populations, however, the regional overlap is great. Variations in the timing and quantity of nuptiality in 57 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the English-speaking nations overseas are explained on the basis of variables measuring the desirability and feasibility of marriage. The conclusion is that marriage is becoming more feasible in the wealthier nations of the West and less feasible in many developing non-Western nations. Social and economic penalties of non-marriage are stronger in non-Western societies than in the West, and stronger for women than for men.     

Income Comparisons Among Neighbours and Satisfaction in East and West Germany

A series of studies have suggested that changes in others’ income may be perceived differently in post-transition and capitalist societies. This paper draws on the German Socio-economic Panel Study (SOEP) matched with micro-marketing indicators of population characteristics in very tightly drawn neighbourhoods to investigate whether reactions to changes in their neighbours’ income divide the German nation. We find that the neighbourhood income effect for West Germany is negative (which is in line with the ‘relative income’ hypothesis) and slightly more marked in neighbourhoods that may be assumed to be places where social interactions between neighbours take place. In contrast, the coefficients on neighbourhood income in East Germany are positive (which is consistent with the ‘signalling’ hypothesis), but statistically not significant. This suggests not only that there is a divide between East and West Germany, but also that neighbours may not be a relevant comparison group in societies that have comparatively low levels of neighbouring.     

Fertility and women's employment reconsidered: A macro-level time-series analysis for developed countries, 1960–2000

This paper examines causality and parameter instability in the long-run relationship between fertility and women's employment. This is done by a cross-national comparison of macro-level time-series data from 1960 to 2000 for France, West Germany, Italy, Sweden, the UK, and the USA. By applying vector error correction models (a combination of Granger-causality tests with recent econometric time-series techniques) we find causality in both directions. This finding is consistent with simultaneous movements of both variables brought about by common exogenous factors such as social norms, social institutions, financial incentives, and the availability and acceptability of contraception. We find a negative and significant correlation until about the mid-1970s and an insignificant or weaker negative correlation afterwards. This result is consistent with a recent hypothesis in the demographic literature according to which changes in the institutional context, such as changes in childcare availability and attitudes towards working mothers, might have reduced the incompatibility between child-rearing and the employment of women.     

Fertility and women's employment reconsidered: a macro-level time-series analysis for developed countries, 1960-2000

This paper examines causality and parameter instability in the long-run relationship between fertility and women's employment. This is done by a cross-national comparison of macro-level time-series data from 1960 to 2000 for France, West Germany, Italy, Sweden, the UK, and the USA. By applying vector error correction models (a combination of Granger-causality tests with recent econometric time-series techniques) we find causality in both directions. This finding is consistent with simultaneous movements of both variables brought about by common exogenous factors such as social norms, social institutions, financial incentives, and the availability and acceptability of contraception. We find a negative and significant correlation until about the mid-1970s and an insignificant or weaker negative correlation afterwards. This result is consistent with a recent hypothesis in the demographic literature according to which changes in the institutional context, such as changes in childcare availability and attitudes towards working mothers, might have reduced the incompatibility between child-rearing and the employment of women.     

Convergence and determinants of non-employment durations in Eastern and Western Germany

Since monetary union between eastern and western Germany in 1990, non-employment spells have been shorter in the east, and there has been no convergence. Analysis of the German Socio-Economic Panel for 1990–2000 indicates that there is some convergence in the determinants of durations, owing to increasing age differentials for eastern men, and an increasing influence of children for eastern women. The latter has contributed to the decline in female employment. Skill affects non-employment duration less than it affects employment duration, and the gender gap in eastern non-employment duration cannot be characterized as a skills gap.I am very grateful to Ann Huff Stevens, Rachel Friedberg, Daniel Parent and Chris Sims for helpful discussions. I also thank participants in seminars at Boston College, Bristol, Essex, London School of Economics, University College London, and Warwick for comments on an earlier version. I am indebted to Yunning Xu for research assistance, and the Yale Center for International and Area Studies for financial support. I am also affiliated with the following institutes: NBER, CEPR, IZA, William Davidson, DIW, CIREQ and CIRANO. Responsible editor: Christoph M. Schmidt     

Die Transformation der Jugendhilfe in Ostdeutschland im Kontext von Tradition, Diskontinuität und Strukturbildung

Changes in the child care legislation in 1990 led to the development of a new helping culture both in West and East Germany at the same time. Paternalistic relations to the clients had to be replaced by autonomy focused and thus professional interaction patterns. So clients were involved in the process of choosing adequate educational support. By comparing two East German youth welfare agencies we show the factors that impede the process of restructuring an appropriate professional-client relationship. The most important factor is the fallacy of mistaking educational support for education itself.