The first cohabiting union and the timing of first births. A comparison between France and Hungary.

Zsuzsanna Stefan-Makay, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

The timing of the transition to adulthood and in particular the median age at the end of studies, at the first cohabitation, at first marriage and at the birth of the first child has developed differently in France and in Hungary since the generations born in the 1930’s. This article analyses the change in timing of these events in the two countries according to sex and generation with an emphasis on the birth of the first child. French and Hungarian data of the Generations and Gender Survey are analysed and event history analysis is used to estimate the length between the begin of the first cohabiting union and the arrival of the first child in the first or in a next union. Results show that one of the most important factors that influence the timing of the first birth is the fact to begin the first cohabiting union by marriage rather than by cohabitation. However, other factors as school degree, median age at the first union and the year of birth influence the timing as well, in some cases differently in the two countries or according to gender. School degree for example has a more negative effect on the timing in the case of women than in the case of men, and this in the two countries.