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Exposure to the one-child policy and fertility among chinese immigrants to the US

Author

Listed:
  • Siyuan Lin

    (Lehigh University
    American Institutes for Research)

  • Laura Argys

    (University of Colorado Denver
    IZA Institute of Labor Economics)

  • Susan Averett

    (IZA Institute of Labor Economics
    Lafayette College)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of growing up under China’s One-Child Policy (OCP) on the subsequent fertility of Chinese women. Specifically, we ask if Chinese women exposed to a small-family culture change their own fertility decisions when they migrate to a country with no fertility restrictions. Using data from the American Community Survey (2010–2020) to measure family size, we compare the childbearing decisions of Chinese-born women growing up before and during the OCP who migrated to the US to each other and to women who migrated from other Asian countries/regions from the same birth cohorts. Our findings indicate that Chinese women between the ages of 35-45 exposed to the OCP for a longer duration have significantly fewer children compared to similar women who were not exposed to the OCP. These findings are robust to several specification checks including controlling for an estimate of a woman’s natal family size, assimilation represented by time spent in the US, women’s education, and as expected, are strongest for currently-married women.

Suggested Citation

  • Siyuan Lin & Laura Argys & Susan Averett, 2025. "Exposure to the one-child policy and fertility among chinese immigrants to the US," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 969-1002, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:23:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11150-025-09782-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-025-09782-5
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East

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