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The effect of culture on the fertility decisions of immigrant women in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Marcén, Miriam
  • Molina, Jose Alberto
  • Morales, Marina
Abstract
This paper examines whether culture plays a role in the number of children born. To explore this issue, we use data on immigrant women who arrived in the United States under 6 years old. Since all these women are resident in the same country from their early lives, and grew up under the same laws, institutions, and economic conditions, then the differences between them by country of origin may be due to cultural differences, as the epidemiological approach suggests. Following that approach, we identify the cultural effect, exploiting variations in the mean number of children born by country of origin, using data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series International that allows us to measure more precisely the cultural proxy by age, education level, and employment status. Results show that the home-country mean number of children born has a positive and statistically significant relationship to the number of children born of immigrants living in the US, suggesting that culture is important. Our findings are robust to the introduction of several home country variables, and to the use of different subsamples. Our results are maintained when we control for unobservable characteristics by country of origin. Additionally, we extend this work to an analysis of both the decision to have children and the number of children born, finding again that culture appears to play a significant role.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcén, Miriam & Molina, Jose Alberto & Morales, Marina, 2016. "The effect of culture on the fertility decisions of immigrant women in the United States," MPRA Paper 75511, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:75511
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    Cited by:

    1. Miriam Marcén & Marina Morales, 2019. "Live together: does culture matter?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 671-713, June.
    2. Miriam Marcén & Marina Morales, 2020. "The effect of culture on home‐ownership," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 56-87, January.
    3. Héctor Bellido & Miriam Marcén, 2019. "Fertility and the business cycle: the European case," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1289-1319, December.
    4. Bredtmann, Julia & Höckel, Lisa Sofie & Otten, Sebastian, 2020. "The intergenerational transmission of gender role attitudes: Evidence from immigrant mothers-in-law," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 101-115.
    5. Zhang, Zhihong & Wang, Pin & Xu, Huichao, 2020. "Executives’ preference for integrity and product quality: Evidence from the Chinese food industry," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 374-385.
    6. Nobuyuki NAKAMURA & Aya SUZUKI, 2023. "Impact of foreign domestic workers on the fertility decision of households: evidence from Hong Kong," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(1), pages 105-135, March.
    7. Marina Morales & Jorge Velilla, 2021. "The effect of cultural environment on entrepreneurial decisions," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 48(9), pages 1309-1330, June.
    8. Morales, Marina, 2020. "Intergenerational transmission of fertility decisions in Spain," MPRA Paper 102046, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina, 2019. "Gender division of household labor: How does culture operate?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 373, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina, 2021. "Culture and the cross-country differences in the gender commuting gap," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    11. Contreras, Ivette, 2023. "Following your lead: Migration networks and immigrants' education decisions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    12. Héctor Bellido & Miriam Marcén & Marina Morales, 2021. "The Reverse Gender Gap in Volunteer Activities: Does Culture Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-15, June.
    13. Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina, 2017. "Remain single or live together: Does culture matter?," MPRA Paper 77623, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Smyth, Russell & Trinh, Trong-Anh & Yew, Siew Ling, 2022. "Local crime and fertility," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 312-331.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Culture; Immigrants; Number of children born;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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