Beyond the Degree: Fertility Outcomes of `First in Family' Graduates

Beyond the Degree: Fertility Outcomes of `First in Family' Graduates | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Beyond the Degree: Fertility Outcomes of `First in Family' Graduates Anna Adamecz, Anna Lovász, Sunčica Vujić This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4854629/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Review of Economics of the Household → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper looks at the relationship between higher education and fertility, focusing on how inter-generational educational mobility shapes this dynamic. Using the 1970 British Cohort Study, we estimate gaps in completed fertility, distinguishing between those who are the first in their family to graduate from a university (FiF), graduates with a graduate parent, and non-graduates. Our findings reveal that while on average, graduate women have fewer children than non-graduates, this difference is driven by FiF graduates. FiF women tend to have fewer children than both non-FiF graduates and non-graduates, who exhibit similar fertility rates. The fertility gap between FiF and non-FiF graduates emerges after age 35, mainly on the extensive margin: FiF women are more likely to remain childless, but those who become mothers have an equal average number of children. Similar patterns are observed among men, although the gaps are smaller and not statistically significant. We identify child-related preferences, self-esteem, and maternal employment in childhood as potential explanations behind the FiF fertility gap, while labour market outcomes, financial constraints, partnerships, and health do not appear to play a role. These findings underscore important considerations for supporting inter-generational mobility and fertility. JEL codes: I26, J13, J16, J24 First in family graduates fertility childlessness inter-generational educational mobility gender economics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files OnlineAppendix.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 23 Jul, 2025 Read the published version in Review of Economics of the Household → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 09 Jan, 2025 Reviews received at journal 09 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Dec, 2024 Reviews received at journal 04 Nov, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Aug, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Aug, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Aug, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 08 Aug, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 08 Aug, 2024 First submitted to journal 03 Aug, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4854629","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":345320807,"identity":"1e01e188-ac8f-4ddc-8925-34f9d52cd674","order_by":0,"name":"Anna Adamecz","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University College London","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anna","middleName":"","lastName":"Adamecz","suffix":""},{"id":345320808,"identity":"4ca876dd-57b9-4f53-9ead-0c22893df413","order_by":1,"name":"Anna Lovász","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Washington Tacoma","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anna","middleName":"","lastName":"Lovász","suffix":""},{"id":345320809,"identity":"bb4fe74d-5a86-436c-8e3f-2223aff430b9","order_by":2,"name":"Sunčica Vujić","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Antwerp","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sunčica","middleName":"","lastName":"Vujić","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-08-03 19:53:20","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4854629/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4854629/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-025-09788-z","type":"published","date":"2025-07-23T15:57:54+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":87756725,"identity":"0eafd89c-708f-4c04-835d-0788a2abd2d1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-28 16:08:16","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":830856,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"REHOfirstsubmission.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4854629/v1_covered_f910c320-03c4-46de-a0d8-282020444e96.pdf"},{"id":63894934,"identity":"d1677ad3-ac6f-4596-92db-d7a9308744ae","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-09-03 13:08:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1122186,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"OnlineAppendix.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4854629/v1/37c67eaeff898ccbe53abe93.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Beyond the Degree: Fertility Outcomes of `First in Family' Graduates","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"review-of-economics-of-the-household","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"reho","sideBox":"Learn more about [Review of Economics of the Household](http://link.springer.com/journal/11150)","snPcode":"11150","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11150/3","title":"Review of Economics of the Household","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"First in family graduates, fertility, childlessness, inter-generational educational mobility, gender economics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4854629/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4854629/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper looks at the relationship between higher education and fertility, focusing on how inter-generational educational mobility shapes this dynamic. 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