Census-Linked Study on Ethnic Fertility Differentials in Lithuania
Census-Linked Study on Ethnic Fertility Differentials in Lithuania

Summary/Abstract: Fertility transformations observed since the early 1990s and their determinants have been rather thoroughly investigated in Lithuania. There are fairly numerous national and international studies devoted to this topic, mainly based on survey data. However, none of these studies look into the effect of ethnicity on fertility. It is, to a large extent, caused by limitations of the sample survey data. This study demonstrates the potentials of census-linked fertility data to estimate robust and nationally representative parity-specific period fertility measures by ethnicity. The findings of this first systematic study of ethnicityspecific fertility differentials in Lithuania indicate that ethnicity does matter for fertility even in such an ethnically homogenous country as Lithuania. Fertility among Lithuanians is higher than in the other ethnic groups, especially among Russians. Lower fertility in the Russian ethnic group is mainly explained by differences in the risk and timing of having the second child. Importantly, this disadvantage remains significant even after controlling for selected compositional characteristics including urban-rural place of residence and education. The approach used in this study may be applied for Latvia and Estonia, where national minorities constitute substantial shares of the entire population and significantly contribute to overall fertility levels.

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