Mothers at Later Ages: Exploring Italian Regional Differences in the Mean Age at Childbearing Dynamics during the Period 1955-2000 through a Decomposition Model

We investigate how changes in fertility behaviour in Italy in 1955-2000 affected the trend of the mean age at childbearing. We evaluate, through a decomposition model, how much of the mean age at childbearing dynamics can be explained by changes of fertility below and above 30 years for different birth orders. The increase of the mean age at childbearing in Italy since the 1980s is clearly linked to the postponement process. In the North-Centre a central role is played by the decline of fertility of I and II birth order at younger ages and by the increase of fertility of the same orders at higher ages. Similarly, in the South the effect of the decline of early fertility of all birth orders is noted. Contrarily to the North-Centre dynamics, in the South the increase in the mean age is still counterbalanced by the decline of fertility of higher birth orders. [...]