Second births in Austria

We investigate determinants of having a second child in Austria, a country which reached below replacement fertility in the early 1970s. In line with the findings for third-birth intensities by Hoem, Prskawetz, and Neyer (2001) we find that a mother’s socio-demographic status like religiousness and her number of own siblings are important determinants of second-birth intensities while her socio-economic status like educational attainment and labour force attachment before childbirth lose significance once we control for her partner’s characteristics. Despite a strong two-child norm that prevailed for women of the birth cohorts we are studying, the incompatibility between motherhood and increasing labour force participation (as evidenced by lower birth intensities for mothers currently working) holds for second births in a similar way as for third births.