Regional social capital and fertility rate: Municipality-level analysis in Finland;




Soini, Eetu; Golovina, Kateryna; Hämäläinen, Hans; Rotkirch, Anna; Berg, Venla; Parikka, Suvi; Jokela, Markus

PublisherTaylor &Francis

2026

1948-5565

1948-5573

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/19485565.2026.2712225

https://doi.org/10.1080/19485565.2026.2712225

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/526896411



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.


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].


Last updated on 03/08/2026 10:25:44 AM