Fertility response to economic insecurities in the CEE countries

Guest editor: Martin Klesment (Tallinn University, Estonia)

Motivation
Previous research has often found a pro-cyclical association between period fertility and macro-economic
trends. In particular, it has been shown that temporary fertility declines are associated with deteriorating
labour market conditions. There are, however, many ways how economic decline may influence individual
fertility behaviour. These range from direct experiences, such as unemployment status and decline of income, to more indirect influences such as higher perceived employment insecurity, weakening consumer confidence, subjective uncertainty etc. With the global financial crisis of 2007/08 and the recent COVID crisis, the question about fertility behaviour during and between temporary economic declines has drawn considerable interest. Some of the economic effects on fertility show variations depending on country context, which further motivates the extension of such research to a wider range of countries. The CEE countries particularly, with the backdrop of large-scale economic transformation and fertility declines in the recent past, may offer interesting experience in this regard.
We are looking forward to papers that address various aspects of fertility (intentions, quantum, timing of
parenthood, spacing etc) in the changing macro-economic context. Within this relatively broad focus, topics may range from general analyses of fertility trends to more in-depth individual and/or multi-level analyses about factors that have the potential to explain influences of economic trends on fertility behaviour.
Although the call is addressed primarily towards the CEE countries, comparative analyses including other
European regions or studies that include evidence pertinent to the CEE experience, are most welcome.