Electronic Publication/s

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026

Special Issue: Delayed reproduction

Guest editors: Éva Beaujouan, Marie-Caroline Compans, Alice Goisis, Jasmin Passet-Wittig

The 2026 volume of the Vienna Yearbook of Population Research brings together a diverse set of contributions examining delayed reproduction as a defining feature of contemporary demographic change. The papers explore how later transitions to parenthood reshape reproductive trajectories, fertility intentions and birth outcomes for individuals and societies. The debate section highlights the normative, ethical and political issues surrounding fertility postponement. It emphasises the tensions between individual aspirations and structural constraints, reproductive justice, and the limitations of medically assisted reproduction. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches and drawing on data from Europe, the Americas, and Asia, the research articles provide rich empirical evidence on delayed fertility and the diversity of reproductive experiences throughout the lifespan. Together, these contributions lay the groundwork for a critical discussion on whether and how delayed reproduction should be understood as a problem, a choice or a socially patterned response to broader economic and institutional contexts.
Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026

Details

ISSN1728-4414
ISSN Online1728-5305
ISBN-13978-3-7001-5156-2
ISBN-13 Online978-3-7001-5157-9
Subject AreaSociology and Economics
Quality reviewrefereed - online
doi10.1553/populationyearbook2026

Debate

Anna Rotkirch ORCID

“Think about it all the time”. Reproductive cues in a late and low fertility setting

doi: 10.1553/p-m272-kafe

Jiřina Kocourková ORCID

Addressing the repro-paradox: From individual responsibility to the institutional conditions of reproductive timing

doi: 10.1553/p-p6cp-c64b

Katherine I. Tierney ORCID, Arthur L. Greil ORCID

Delayed childbearing and reproductive justice

doi: 10.1553/p-mmcd-m5hf

Lone Schmidt ORCID

Medically assisted reproduction cannot fully counteract the social- and age-related challenges of reproduction

doi: 10.1553/p-d8j4-hjae

Guido Pennings ORCID

Delayed reproduction: A small step in the right direction

doi: 10.1553/p-caeb-6gbj

Nina Dippold ORCID, Éva Beaujouan ORCID

How will reproductive technology change the future of reproduction?

doi: 10.1553/p-pdd9-4mfp

Research Articles

Amanda Jean Stevenson ORCID, Leslie J. Root ORCID, Jane Menken ORCID

Rethinking age-specific fecundability: Selection bias can generate apparent rapid decline with age

doi: 10.1553/p-p7d2-d2hz

Gert Stulp ORCID, Rolf Granholm ORCID, Amke M. G. van Tintelen ORCID, Zoltán Lippényi ORCID

Quantifying the postponement in the age at first attempt to conceive and its consequences

doi: 10.1553/p-fzmf-d932

Eva Beaujouan ORCID, Shalini Singh ORCID

Fertility intentions and pregnancy attempts across reproductive ages

doi: 10.1553/p-535f-56a4

Nadja Milewski ORCID, Jasmin Passet-Wittig ORCID

Reproductive disruptions in fertility research: Conceptual re-integration and evidence from Germany

page 1

doi: 10.1553/p-3fdh-k3g2

Jitka Slabá ORCID, Anna Šťastná ORCID, Jiřina Kocourková ORCID

How do reproductive events other than live births shape the timing of a second child?

doi: 10.1553/p-f6d9-zjjz

Alessandra Minello ORCID, Francesca Tosi ORCID, Elena Vettoretto ORCID, Chiara Ludovica Comolli ORCID, Gianpiero Dalla-Zuanna ORCID, Livia Elisa Ortensi ORCID

Not all births are equal: Delivery type and fertility intentions by age at first childbirth

doi: 10.1553/p-9mzp-nm56

Marta Seiz ORCID

Educational differences in the impact of maternal age on perinatal health in Spain: A population-based study

doi: 10.1553/p-67f8-9f5p

Xueqing Wang ORCID, Leng Seong Che

Two paths to smaller families: Socioeconomic and urban–rural disparities in delayed first birth in China and implications for an ageing society

doi: 10.1553/p-m8bg-h6pj

Robin Cavagnoud ORCID

Educational differences and changing reproductive trajectories across three family generations of women in Peru

doi: 10.1553/p-k8p6-ckb7

Nadia Sturm ORCID, Alessandra Trimarchi ORCID, Jan Van Bavel ORCID

Is precarious union formation making it more difficult for women with low educational attainment to enter parenthood?

page 1

doi: 10.1553/p-kddn-zj78

Nathaly Llanes-Díaz ORCID, Víctor M. García-Guerrero ORCID, Paula Martes-Camargo ORCID

Postponement or limitation? Mechanisms of reproductive intentions in Mexico City’s lowest-low fertility context

doi: 10.1553/p-e9c3-f87p

M-C Compans ORCID, Alessandra Trimarchi ORCID, Eva Beaujouan ORCID

Partners’ age differences and first birth transitions by age at first and second union in Europe

doi: 10.1553/p-nk6a-fj74

Kathleen Broussard ORCID

The meaning and measurement of unrealised fertility: A comparison of measures among women aged 40–49 in the United States

page 1

doi: 10.1553/p-bcn9-6a59

Hal Caswell ORCID

Delayed reproduction has unexpected effects on population growth and structure

doi: 10.1553/p-kzbg-zkn7

Data & Trends

Peter Fallesen ORCID, Lars Dommermuth ORCID, Julia Hellstrand ORCID, Emil Simonsen ORCID, Lisbeth Trille Gylling Loft ORCID, Laust Hvas Mortensen ORCID

Comparing ideal family size with observed and forecasted completed cohort fertility in Denmark and Norway

doi: 10.1553/p-m677-8z27

Shalini Singh ORCID

Fluidity in fertility timing intentions among childless men and women

doi: 10.1553/p-9jb3-a3h3

Leen Marynissen ORCID, Karel Neels ORCID, Jonas Wood ORCID

Education, fertility postponement and parity progression: Exploring variation by migration background using a joint modelling approach

doi: 10.1553/p-n88f-a6hh