Educational attainment and second birth in Romania

Cornelia Muresan, University Babes-Bolyai of Cluj

This study investigates the effect of educational attainment and educational enrolment on second birth risk in Romania using data from Generations and Gender Survey of 2005. We found a persistently negative effect of education on second birth (the more highly educated had a lower second-birth risks), a very similar (negative) effect of being enrolled with having a university degree, and a positive indirect effect of education thru age at entry into motherhood. However, when we control for unobserved heterogeneity the effect of age at first birth weakens while the effect of educational level and educational enrolment becomes stronger. All kinds of impact of education on the second-birth risk are followed during the period from 1950 to 2005, and we stress the impact differentials according to changes in political regime, in family policies, and in the educational system.