Rogne Adrian Farner, Fauske Agnes, Hart Rannveig Kaldager
Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway.
Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Eur J Popul. 2025 Jun 2;41(1):14. doi: 10.1007/s10680-025-09737-7.
Previous research has pointed to educational expansions and increased educational attainment among women as an important factor contributing to reductions in fertility levels and changes in family formation patterns in the second half of the twentieth century. We investigate one potential mechanism that may have contributed to these developments-the establishment of local colleges providing access to higher education for broader segments of the population. We study the establishment of regional colleges in Norway 1973-83. Taking advantage of population-wide administrative register data, historical data sources and recent developments in difference-in-differences methodology, we employ an event study design to assess the impact of local colleges on cohort fertility and age-specific fertility outcomes, as well as age at marriage and regional mobility as potential mechanisms. Our findings suggest that access to local colleges did not impact fertility, family formation or mobility to any substantial degree.
先前的研究指出，教育扩张以及女性受教育程度的提高是导致20世纪下半叶生育率下降和家庭形成模式变化的一个重要因素。我们研究了一个可能促成这些发展的潜在机制——建立地方学院，为更广泛的人群提供高等教育机会。我们研究了1973年至1983年挪威地方学院的设立情况。利用涵盖全人口的行政登记数据、历史数据源以及差分法的最新进展，我们采用事件研究设计来评估地方学院对同期群生育率、特定年龄生育率结果以及结婚年龄和区域流动性等潜在机制的影响。我们的研究结果表明，地方学院的入学机会在很大程度上并未影响生育率、家庭形成或流动性。
