4. Why is Fertility in Scotland Lower Than in England?
Award Holders: Dr E Graham, Professor P Boyle, Professor J Ermisch, Dr V Gayle - Universities of St Andrews, Essex and Stirling
Summary: Scotland's fertility has recently fallen to very low levels and has been lower than fertility in England for over two decades. This study asked why Scotland has lower fertility than England, given that the two countries share many common features. Data from different sources is linked to individual records from the British Household Panel Survey to allow an assessment of the contribution of population composition, socio-economic context, socio-cultural context and institutional setting to the explanation. Survival analysis was used to identify those variables most strongly associated with cross-country differences in two major fertility outcomes: age at first birth and the time interval between first and second birth. To date no research had attempted to tease out the relative contribution of such a comprehensive set of factors.
Status: End of Award report released on ESRC website May 2007.
Links: ESRC website