Starting a family while still studying

In the mid-1960s the birth rate in Western Europe began to decline. In some countries the low point was reached in the first half of the 1980s, in others much later. One of several explanations for the drop in birth rates is that women are having their first child increasingly later. The late start of family foundation is because more and more women are in advanced professional training, in particular university education. This article uses an international comparison to examine the extent to which student grants and family assistance that increase the personal responsibility of students and financial independence from their parents can effect changes in family-foundation patterns.