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Between two worlds: Cohort fertility dynamics before, during, and after the transition to a market economy in Hungary – A decomposition analysis

Laura Szabó & Zsuzsanna Makay

Demographic Research2026https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2026.54.19article
ABDC A
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0.50

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThe collapse of state socialism and Hungary's transition to a market economy after 1989 greatly changed societal structures, including patterns of fertility and education. OBJECTIVEThis study examines whether changes in the completed cohort fertility rate (CFR) among Hungarian women born between 1920 and 1982 resulted from shifts in educational composition or fertility within educational groups. METHODSUsing Kitagawa's decomposition method, we split CFR change into structural and behavioural effects.We compare female birth cohorts whose main childbearing occurred during the pre-transition, transition, and post-transition periods of the socialist regime change, relying on data from six full Hungarian censuses . RESULTSStructural effects dominated in the pre-transition cohort, behavioural effects in the posttransition cohort, while both were small and offsetting in the transition cohort (1960)(1961)(1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969).In all cohorts, women with primary education made the largest overall contribution to CFR change, mainly due to their declining population share.Parity patterns also shifted, as lower childlessness and higher second-birth rates supported CFR in the pre-transition cohort, whereas rising childlessness and declining second births reduced CFR in the post-transition cohort.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2026.54.19

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@article{laura2026,
  title        = {{Between two worlds: Cohort fertility dynamics before, during, and after the transition to a market economy in Hungary – A decomposition analysis}},
  author       = {Laura Szabó & Zsuzsanna Makay},
  journal      = {Demographic Research},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4054/demres.2026.54.19},
}

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