Abstract
This paper examines the concept of delayed childbearing in Australia, in comparison with other Western countries. In addition to presenting statistics to examine changes in the age at which women enter parenthood, survey data from the Australian Family Project are used to investigate the factors influencing the timing of the first birth. Using a framework proposed by Bloom (1984), the paper presents a proportional hazards regression model of first birth timing. Some attempt is made to examine changes over time in the factors affecting the age at first birth.
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Revised version of an essay awarded the W.D. Borrie prize (undergraduate section), 1994.
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Merlo, R. First birth timing in Australia. Journal of Population Research 12, 131–146 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03029314
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03029314