Rethinking Couples’ Fertility in Spain: Do Partners’ Relative Education, Employment, and Job Stability Matter?

Abstract Fertility decisions among Spanish couples have been strongly driven by economic uncertainty in a context which dual-earner become the norm and gender gap education has reversed. However, partners’ respective jobs do not carry same weight such decisions. We explore how homogamous or heterogamous education, employment, job stability between partners can provide insights into couples’ fertility using data from 2002 to 2018 Labor Force Survey. The results reveal that heterogamic couples, woman’s more than man’s is key for childbearing decisions, while no differences are found levels educationally partners. In suggest reversal of negative education-fertility gradient show highly educated higher likelihood having child less-educated couples. Dual-earner likely be parents affected unemployment as those meeting declining male breadwinner, female caregiver model. conclude role played employment trumps essentialism, highlighting nonexclusive importance egalitarianism, fertility.