Second generation immigrants and age at motherhood. A longitudinal study of the impact of intergenerational transmission of fertility behavior

Kirk A. Scott, Lund University
Maria A. Stanfors, Lund University

Using a newly-created multigenerational register, this study examines the fertility integration of the second generation in light of the fertility history of their mothers, their co-ethnics, and the native population. We study the extent that children of immigrants have assimilated to host-country norms in terms of entrance into motherhood, with a focus on the role of labor market status in the process of becoming mothers for groups from varying national backgrounds. Using register data comprising the entire Swedish population, we examine the process of becoming parents for second-generation immigrants while controlling for the entire reproductive and labor-market history of the parental generation. This study takes two approaches: First, the entire Swedish population is observed, controlling for individual characteristics of both the daughter and the mother. Second, families with two daughters are studied, assessing the impact of family norms on fertility using a sibling approach with family fixed-effects.