ZEMCH 2019 International Conference Proceedings April.2020 | Page 91
3.4. Residential environmental factors affecting fertility intention for additional children
The residential environmental factors affecting the fertility plan of additional children for
newlyweds with a child were analyzed using Model 3 (Table 4). Although there were differences in the
fertility plans of an additional child by the level of income of the newlyweds, patterns were unclear. In
the past, the increase in the level of income was generally recognized to increase the fertility rate due
to earlier‐age of marriage and childbirth. However, it is considered that the outcome reflected by a
phenomenon of giving up the additional child because high income made them emphasize the quality
of life more than the number of children. More in‐depth analysis is required between these economic
variables and the number of additional family planning.
According to the results of 2015 the Newlyweds Panel Analysis of Housing Conditions, the
newlyweds without children showed a large difference between 6.0% of single‐income households and
31.5% of dual‐income households. This difference indicates difficulties in their working life, the
responsibilities of raising children, and the economic causes. As increasing the number of women enter
in the social circle, new subside fertility policies are required to promote childbirth and reduce the
burden of parenting their children. We also found that the higher level of satisfaction with the
environment of residential areas, such as safety, childcare facility, the living & transportation
infrastructure have a positive impact on delivering additional children. Healthy work‐life‐balance
between work and childcare is important for the overall fertility rate, as shown in the analysis of the
relationship between family characteristics, residential regional environment, and the rate of additional
fertility.
Table 4. Residential environmental factors affect the fertility intention for additional children (Model 3)
Dependent Variable
Demography
Economy
Housing
Residential
Satisfaction
Further
Circumstances
Age of wife
Marriage period
Residential region
Annual Income
Mortgage
dual‐income status
Ownership status
Residential type
Basic environment
Housing setting
Environment of
residential areas
The anticipated years of
housing purchase
Constant
‐0.006
0.810 Standard
Deviation
0.014
0.046 Wald
statistic
0.169
306.131
‐0.262
‐1.69e‐4
1.27e‐5 0.118
3.64e‐5
‐9.75e‐5 4.902
21.650
1.698
Beta
p‐value
0.681
<0.001 c
0.027 a
<0.001 c
0.193
Odds ratio
0.994
2.247
0.769
0.999
1.000
‐0.263 0.110 5.743 0.017 a 0.056
0.067
0.182
0.122 0.146
0.121
0.124
0.121 0.148
0.306
2.151
1.018 0.701
0.580
0.142
0.313 1.058
1.070
1.199
1.130
‐0.273 0.111 6.037 0.014 a 0.761
‐0.001 0.001 2.109 0.146 0.999
‐2.102 0.595 12.485 <0.001 c 0.122
0.768
a: p<0.05, b: p<0.01, c: p<0.001
4. Conclusions
This study was conducted to identify the residential environmental factors that affect the fertility
rate of newlyweds in South Korea. Based on our quantitative research, we urge that the following
policies should be considered to increase the fertility rate for the newlyweds.
Firstly, housing policies for the economic stability of early settlements should be ensured for the
newlywed couples who plan their first child. For newlywed couples who plan additional children,
customized policies are necessary to improve the residential environment which is directly related to
the fertility intention. Further qualitative researches on the fertility rate and residential environmental
factors need to be carried out.
Residential Environmental Factors Influencing Fertility Intention of Newlyweds in South Korea
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