Fertility Intentions in Italy: An Update from the 2017 Trustlab Data
Arnstein Aassve, Bocconi University
Francesco Mattioli, Bocconi University
Letizia Mencarini, Bocconi University
In this paper we present an analysis of fertility intentions in Italy. We draw on a newly created survey, Trustlab Italy, which was implemented in September 2017. The analysis is based on a representative sample of Italian men and women with 1100 respondents. This sample is supplemented by a booster sample of 400 women aged 18 to 45. For all respondents we have information about the number of children, their partnership status, the number of siblings and the number of children those siblings have - in addition to their age. One neat feature of the Trustlab survey, is that we have information about the municipality where the respondents live. We link our sample with municipality data drawn from ISTAT. There are more than 8000 municipalities in Italy for which ISTAT provides a range of information. For instance, we are able to control for both the TFR in the municipality, economic activity, and childcare coverage. Currently, the last available data on fertility intentions in Italy comes from 2009. One important contribution of this paper is simply to provide an update of the pattern of fertility intentions in Italy. But we are also able to provide additional insights to the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which is the framework fertility intentions are usually framed. For instance, the municipality data adds to the measure of perceived control. In addition, we have a wealth of information about the individual herself, such the personality traits and objective measures of trust, which may matter for the subjective attitude towards children.
Presented in Session 107: Methods and Data on Fertility