Having a child later: Socio-demographic issues of delayed births.

Summary Changes in the birth rate are most often measured by a single indicator, the number of children per woman. However, the birth calendar, i.e., the ages at which a mother gives birth to her children, sheds useful light on sociodemographic dynamics. In particular, the age of childbirth is a social marker, as it increases with the parents' education and income levels. Today, among those with the fewest social prospects, we often find girl-mothers. It is clear that the timing of births is naturally linked to the other important decisions that punctuate the life cycle: the number of children, of course, but also the time devoted to education and the role of women in the labor market. Although there is a tendency to be alarmed by the postponement of births, the ages of childbearing are not variables or objectives of public policy. in fact, the opposite is true: they react indirectly to certain policies, and can thus cancel out their effects. In this booklet, the birth calendar is used to read certain social, economic and demographic dynamics specific to European societies and, in particular, to French and German societies. We put into perspective the phenomenon of postponed births that has characterized European demography for several decades by analyzing precisely its motives and implications.