THE EMERGENCE OF A POSITIVE RELATION BETWEEN EDUCATION AND 3RD BIRTH-RATES IN NORWAY WITH SUPPORTIVE EVIDENCE FROM THE UNITED-STATES

Data derived from the Central Population Register of Norway and the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households show a positive association between mothers' educational level and rates of third births. Norwegian women who had a second birth during the late 1970s and had received more than 12 years of schooling gave birth to a third child more frequently than women who had only received the minimum compulsory education. Similar results were obtained for American women who had a second birth during the 1970s. Attempts to explain this positive effect of education in terms of economic status, or a differential impact of commitment to work by the mothers, have failed. It also seems that trends and variations in selection to parity 2 play a minor role.