Essays on Income and Fertility: Sweden 1968-2009

The purpose of this dissertation is to produce a cohesive study on how income is related to different events that constitute fertility, such as entry into parenthood, continued childbearing, and the risk of remaining childless. Relying on register-based longitudinal data on men and women living in Sweden between 1968 and 2009, this study aims to contribute to the literature by providing insight into whether or not income facilitates fertility and how it changes across parity transitions, gender, and educational attainment.
The studies contained in this dissertation provide evidence suggesting that income has become a more important factor in the transition to parenthood, household income is positively related to continued childbearing, particularly when the transition to the second parity is considered, the relative income of women within the household has no negative impact on continued childbearing, and finally, a high income in youth decreases the probability of childlessness at later ages for either men or women.