BACKGROUND South Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, reaching a record low of 0.98 in 2018. Understanding socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea has become an important social and policy issue. OBJECTIVE This study examines socioeconomic differentials in first and second childbirths among married women using various indicators of socioeconomic status at the individual and household level. METHODS Using the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (1998-2017), discrete-time hazard models are used to evaluate the relationships between multiple indicators of socioeconomic status and the transition to first and second births. RESULTS Higher socioeconomic status (e.g., husband's college education and standard employment, homeownership) is conducive to a transition to parenthood and second births. However, the wife's employment - standard employment in particular - is negatively associated with both first and second childbirth. Among the indicators of socioeconomic resources, stable housing arrangements and the husband's employment security appear to be the most important factors for a married couple's fertility decisions. CONCLUSIONS Socioeconomically disadvantaged married couples tend to delay their transition to parenthood. In addition, those with high SES are more likely than their counterparts with low SES to have second births. If these patterns persist, they have important implications for the demographic process and social stratification. CONTRIBUTION The findings of this study contribute to a comprehensive understanding of socioeconomic differentials in fertility in South Korea and therefore have important policy implications. These findings will also prove useful to other societies with very low fertility rates.

中文翻译：

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韩国生育率的社会经济差异。

背景韩国是世界上生育率最低的国家之一，2018 年创下 0.98 的历史新低。了解韩国生育率的社会经济差异已成为一个重要的社会和政策问题。目标 本研究使用个人和家庭层面的各种社会经济地位指标，研究已婚妇女在第一次和第二次生育方面的社会经济差异。方法 使用韩国劳动和收入小组研究（1998-2017），离散时间风险模型被用来评估社会经济地位的多个指标与向第一次和第二次生育的过渡之间的关系。结果 较高的社会经济地位（例如，丈夫的大学教育和标准就业、房屋所有权）有利于过渡到为人父母和第二胎。然而，妻子的就业——尤其是标准就业——与第一次和第二次生育都呈负相关。在社会经济资源指标中，稳定的住房安排和丈夫的就业保障似乎是已婚夫妇生育决策的最重要因素。结论 社会经济上处于不利地位的已婚夫妇往往会延迟他们向父母身份的过渡。此外，SES 高的人比 SES 低的人更有可能生育第二胎。如果这些模式持续存在，它们将对人口过程和社会分层产生重要影响。贡献 本研究的结果有助于全面了解韩国生育率的社会经济差异，因此具有重要的政策意义。