Period of Migration and Fertility among Turkish Women in West Germany

• In Event: 2450 - Differentials in Fertility Timing and Fertility Preferences

Abstract

A growing body of research highlights complexity in fertility processes following migration. Until now, few scholars have examined the relationship between period of migration and fertility behavior among migrants. In this paper, I examine how the transition into first birth varies across migrant cohorts in West Germany. Specifically, I study family behavior among Turkish women. With changing social conditions within destination and origin countries, as well as differential selection into migration, patterns are expected to vary. Using German Socio-economic Panel data, including new samples of foreign-born individuals, I find that first birth propensities increase with later migrant cohorts. I attribute this to the increasing importance of marriage migration.

Author

• Jeylan Erman, University of Pennsylvania