A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Regional social capital and fertility rate: Municipality-level analysis in Finland; 
Authors: Soini, Eetu; Golovina, Kateryna; Hämäläinen, Hans; Rotkirch, Anna; Berg, Venla; Parikka, Suvi; Jokela, Markus
Publisher: Taylor &Francis
Publication year: 2026
ISSN: 1948-5565
eISSN: 1948-5573
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19485565.2026.2712225
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1080/19485565.2026.2712225
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/526896411
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
While many studies find that received social capital matters for childbearing on the individual level, few studies have investigated how regional social factors relate to fertility rates. In the current study, we used data from 299 municipalities in Finland to examine how different measures of social capital are associated with total fertility rates at the regional level. Data for social indicators were derived from a large national survey (n = 100 750), and data on fertility and covariates were derived from population registries. We applied spatial autoregressive error models to account for spatial autocorrelation between neighboring municipalities. Regions with higher social support and more frequent social contacts had higher total fertility rates, whereas trust, community participation, cultural activities or loneliness were not associated with fertility. These associations were particularly pronounced for fertility rates among individuals aged 20–39 than in other age groups. Moreover, no association was found for regional socio-economic composite score. The results suggest that community-level social capital may be relevant for fertility trends.
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Funding information in the publication:
This work was supported by the Academy of Finland [grant number 345186]. KG was supported by the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki. HH was funded by NetResilience consortium funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland [grant number 345183] and INVEST flagship funded by the Academy of Finland [grant number 320162].