Is Pregnancy in Austria still a Reason for Marriage?

Austria has traditionally strong regional differentials in non-marital fertility which correspond to differential rates of marriage during first pregnancy. But in all regions the tendency to marry in case of pregnancy has declined over the past years. This paper will use the data of the Austria 1996 FFS to study the question from two angles: first, we look at changing marriage patterns and study whether non-marital unions are likely to develop into an alternative or a precursor to marriage in Austria. Next, we reconstruct the biographies of all unmarried women who had a first pregnancy. We study the timing and quantum of monthly marriage rates after the beginning of the pregnancy, and to what degree they depend on socioeconomic factors. The findings imply that non-marital unions in Austria are still predominantly a precursor to marriage, but that a first pregnancy by itself becomes less of a reason to marry.