SOCIAL-POLICY AND RECENT FERTILITY CHANGE IN SWEDEN

Describes the increase in Sweden's period total fertility rate (TFR) in recent years. The TFR has now reached the replacement level despite Swedish women's record-high labor force participation and their unusually late entry into motherhood. The demographic mechanism behind this development is an increase in the tempo of childbearing. Direct empirical evidence for a significant demographic response to specific public policies is rare in Western societies. In Sweden, however, a marked reduction in the length of time between first and second, and between second and third births appears to be largely a response to financial incentives to extend maternity leave. -Author