Sweden's family policies and roller-coaster fertility

Abstract

"Sweden has experienced dramatic waves in its fertility level over the last three decades. The Swedish TFR dropped from almost 2.5 in the mid-1960s to about 1.7 around 1980 and then increased again to above the replacement level in 1990, after which it fell back to below 1.7 over the subsequent six years. In this paper, we describe the various birth-order components of these waves in some detail and relate them to correspondingly dramatic economic trends and to progressive family-policy reforms."