Fertility preferences and expectations about older age

Kalev Katus, Estonian Interuniversity Population Research Centre
Allan Puur, Estonian Interuniversity Population Research Centre
Asta Põldma, Estonian Interuniversity Population Research Centre

The paper focuses on the interrelationship between the preferences about fertility and the attitudes towards the care of the elderly in society. Does a stronger orientation towards having children go together with stronger adherence to the views that family and children should take an mportant responsibility for the care of their aged parents? The results are expected to cast light on the implications of parity-specific fertility decline on the future demands for elderly care from society. The analysis also supports an understanding about the extent to which preferences and attitudes in major policy-relevant domains are interrelated. The analysis is based on the International Population Policy Acceptance Survey (PPA2) database which covers 14 European countries. Analytical techniques include multivariate regression analyses which allow to control for the effects of relevant socio-demographic characteristics.