![Sample our Behavioral Sciences journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110801/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Behavioral-Sciences.jpg"})
Summary
The purpose of this article is to analyze women's agency and fertility decisions in the context of policy configurations in welfare states for reconciling employment with having and caring for children and the changing aspirations and expectations forgender equality in families. Employing the concept of birthstriking, inspired by Amartaya Sen's ideas on capabilities and agency freedom, we consider which individuals and families in the 1990s are delaying or not having children across 12 countries, representing four policy configuration models. Using household level data, we consider differences in education on the likelihood of having a first child. We find the clearest birthstriking effects in societies where there are weak reconciliation policies for motherhood and employment and few protections for families with uncertain economic futures.