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Immigrant mothers’ preferences for children’s sexes: A register-based study of fertility behaviour in Norway

Author

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  • Mats Lillehagen
  • Torkild Hovde Lyngstad

Abstract

Parental sex preferences have been documented in many native populations, but much less evidence is available on immigrants’ preferences for the sexes of their children. Using high-quality longitudinal register data from Norway, a country with a recent immigration history, we estimate hazards regression models of third birth risks by the sex composition of the first two children. A central question in the extant literature is whether the sex preferences of immigrant mothers match those observed in their country of origin, or if cultural adaption to local conditions is more important. Our analyses indicate that the sex preferences of immigrants generally match those previously documented for their native population, especially in the case of son preferences. The pattern of sex preferences is unmodified by the mother’s exposure to the host society. In sum, our evidence generally supports theories emphasizing cultural persistence in preferences, rather than theories of adaption or immigrant selectivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Mats Lillehagen & Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, 2018. "Immigrant mothers’ preferences for children’s sexes: A register-based study of fertility behaviour in Norway," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 72(1), pages 91-107, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rpstxx:v:72:y:2018:i:1:p:91-107
    DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2017.1421254
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Hill Kulu & Nadja Milewski & Tina Hannemann & Júlia Mikolai, 2019. "A decade of life-course research on fertility of immigrants and their descendants in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(46), pages 1345-1374.
    2. Sehar Ezdi & Ahmet Melik Baş, 2020. "Gender preferences and fertility: Investigating the case of Turkish immigrants in Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(3), pages 59-96.
    3. Yigit Aydede & Marie-Claire Robitaille, 2022. "Speeding Up for a Son Among Immigrants in Canada," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(5), pages 2233-2265, October.
    4. Allan Puur & Leen Rahnu & Tiit Tammaru, 2023. "Neighbourhoods and Workplaces: Are They Related to the Fertility of Immigrants and Their Descendants? A Register-Based Study of Finland, 1999–2014," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 209-231, March.
    5. Eleonora Mussino & Vitor Miranda & Li Ma, 2019. "Transition to third birth among immigrant mothers in Sweden: Does having two daughters accelerate the process?," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 81-109, June.
    6. Sarah Carol & Karsten Hank, 2020. "Natives’ and Immigrants’ Gender Preferences for Children in Germany," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(2), pages 235-246, April.
    7. Duan Huiqiong & Hicks Daniel L., 2020. "New evidence on son preference among immigrant households in the United States," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-28, January.
    8. Jesús García-Gómez & Emilio Parrado, 2023. "Early Childbearing of Immigrant Women and Their Descendants in Spain," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-26, August.

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