Reconciling studies of men’s gender attitudes and fertility: Response to Westoff and Higgins

A reflexion by Westoff and Higgins (2009) in response to a study by Puur, Oláh, Tazi-Preve and Dorbritz (2008) has recently been published in this journal. Both articles address the relationship between men’s gender attitudes and fertility across European countries, using different datasets and quite different measures of gender attitudes, and producing opposing results. Based on that, Westoff and Higgins suggest caution regarding accepting the conclusion of the Puur et al. analysis that increased equality might increase fertility. We respond to their arguments here by elaborating on the theoretical underpinnings of the claim presented in the original article and thus the importance of the differences of the measures of gender attitudes applied in the two studies (gender roles in the public vs. private spheres). With this contribution, we stress the need for further research and theorizing on the links between men’s gender attitudes and fertility.