Migration experience and fertility in postwar generations: Russian case

Sergei V. Zakharov, State University Higher School of Economics
Sergei V. Surkov, Independent Institute for Social Policy, Moscow

The only source of data for studying the relationship between migration and fertility in Russia are still sample surveys. Data analysis of The Russian Generations and Gender Survey (2004) and the Employment and Education Survey (2005) leads to the following key findings. Our results confirm basic lines of well known theoretical concepts: the existing differences in fertility between people of different migratory status undoubtedly caused also by socialization conditions during their childhood and adaptation to conditions of a place of destination of migrants, and to some extent selectivity at change of the migratory status. We did not put a most important task to define weightiness of all these moments to explain of the multifaceted differences in each specific case. At this stage for us it was important to reveal,whenever possible, the whole spectrum of the differences in fertility due to migration and to estimate their significance. Our data also confirm the validity of the main findings of research carried out earlier by L.Kuznetsov (1992) based on the 1985 Microsensus and by H. Kulu (2003) based on the Estonian FFS. Surprising that similar results were obtained for as diverse countries as Russia and Estonia. Besides, migration certainly influences a calendar of demographic events: marriage and childbearing. However far not in all cases it can be as a stress disorder of life plans. On the contrary, frequently, the individual is observed consistent offensive demographic events in connection with the decision to move. Completed fertility is highly dependent on the type of settlement in which the person was born and the direction of the move. In the most general case, the level of fertility of the migrant tends not to the level of fertility of the area, which he leaves, and the level of fertility, typical of the area of destination.