Residential Environmental Factors Influencing Fertility Intention of Newlyweds in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to quantitatively analyze the residential environmental factors that affect the fertility intention of newlyweds (within 5 years of marriage) to find the political implications for effective housing policy. We extracted the factors of the residential environment based on fertility theories and previous related studies. We identified differential characteristics of the impact on fertility intention for the first and additional child(ren). As a result, the fertility intention was higher in non-metropolitan households and lease households. And there was a significant relationship between the expected period of house purchase and fertility intention. In particular, for one-child families, the second child fertility intention was significantly affected by the residential environment. In conclusion, we quantitatively confirmed various residential environmental factors that distinctly impact on the newlyweds' fertility plan. We suggest that the government need to implement housing policies based on economic stability, number of children, and residential environment of the newlywed couples.