International migration, transfer of norms and home country fertility

in Canadian Journal of Economics (2013), 46(4), 1406-1430

This paper examines the relationship between international migration and source country fertility. The impact of international migration on source country fertility may have a number of causes, including ... [more ▼]

This paper examines the relationship between international migration and source country fertility. The impact of international migration on source country fertility may have a number of causes, including a transfer of destination countries’ fertility norms. We provide a rigorous test of the diffusion of fertility norms using highly detailed original data on migration. Our results provide evidence of a significant transfer of destination countries’ fertility norms from migrants to their country of origin: a 1% decrease (increase) in the fertility norm to which migrants are exposed reduces (raises) home country fertility by about 0.3%. [less ▲]