Varieties of reproduction regimes a comparative perspective on policies regulating reproductive processes over the life course

Hannah Zagel , WZB Berlin Social Science Center

This study proposes a theoretical and empirical typology of ‘reproduction regimes’ in advanced welfare states by considering multiple fields of regulating reproduction across the life course—namely medically assisted reproduction (MAR), abortion, contraception, sex education, and pregnancy care. Prominent narratives in the literature are that reproductive rights have spread with the diffusion of human rights, but that there are also signs of polarization between liberal and restrictive countries following the influence of anti-feminist movements (Cole, 2025). Applying the perspective of comparative welfare state research, this study expects more heterogenous patterns of how countries regulate reproduction and the regulative pathways. With previous comparative research tending to focus strongly on the legal conditions of abortion, the broader comparative analyses underlying the present study can provide a fuller understanding of state interventions in individual reproductive processes and their change over time. Using the dimensions of ‘permissiveness’ and ‘cost compensation’, I theoretically distinguish four regime types: universalist, interventionist, liberal, and selective and suggest their evolution is marked by different demographic setups and political motives. Empirically, I draw on quantitative policy indicators for 30 countries from the new International Reproduction Policy Database (IRPD) to operationalize the two conceptual dimensions for the 1990s and the 2010s. To capture implications at the individual level, I supplement these indicators with aggregated data on maternal mortality, prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among adolescents, and unintended pregnancy. The analyses provide evidence for broad liberalization and give an insight into the heterogenous pathways of regulating reproduction in the 21st century.

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 Presented in Session 6. Demographic Change and the Making of European Welfare Policy