Male–Female Fertility Differentials Across 17 High-Income Countries: Insights From A New Data Resource
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Demographic time-series registry analysis (by design analogy, not clinical CEBM)
OpenAlex W3125977607 · doi:10.1007/s10680-020-09575-9
What was done
The authors developed a standardized database on male fertility covering more than 330 million live births from birth registers across 17 high-income countries, integrated into the Human Fertility Collection. Data spanned from as early as the late 1960s (from the 1980s onward for most countries). Methodological imputation was used to handle missing paternal age at childbirth, which affected roughly 10% of births. Descriptive and counterfactual analyses were performed to assess trends in male–female fertility quantum and tempo differentials.
What was found
The abstract reports substantial variation in male–female fertility differentials across countries and over time, but provides no specific numerical values or effect sizes. Disparities between male and female period fertility rates were driven largely by the interplay of parental age and cohort size differences. Parental age differences at childbirth narrowed over time in most countries, except in Eastern Europe. Cross-country variation was also observed to be influenced by factors other than gender equality.
Why it matters
Male fertility has historically been understudied in demography due to incomplete paternal birth records. This dataset provides standardized, multi-decade male fertility metrics across 17 high-income countries to support comparative demographic research.
Limits
The study is restricted to 17 high-income countries, limiting generalizability to low- and middle-income regions. Paternal age was missing for approximately 10% of births, requiring statistical imputation. The abstract reports qualitative trends without providing numerical estimates, confidence intervals, or statistical test results.
Cited by
- supports In Sweden, the total number of children linked to fathers via administrative registry data is about 6% to 8% less than those linked to mothers.