Partners’ Educational Pairings and Fertility Intentions in the United States: Evidence from 2015–2017 National Survey of Family Growth

Abstract

In light of the ongoing educational shift from favoring men to favoring women, this study contributes to the literature on fertility by investigating the relationship between educational pairings and fertility intentions. To test two competing hypotheses, nationally representative data from the latest wave (2015–2017) of the National Survey of Family Growth were used, and four generalized estimating equation models were estimated. Results indicate that women’s intentions for additional children were influenced by educational pairings. Specifically, when highly educated women had a highly educated partner, their fertility intentions were higher than lower-educated women, but this difference disappeared if those women were in hypogamous relationships; when lower-educated women had lower- or medium-educated partners, their intentions for additional children were significantly lower than highly educated women, but the difference disappeared when she had a highly educated partner. Findings from this study provide new insights into fertility intentions by taking into account both partners’ education.