Immigrant Parents' Preferences for Children's Sex: A Register-Based Study of Fertility Behavior in Ten National-Origin Groups
20 Pages Posted: 15 Mar 2014
Date Written: March 13, 2014
Abstract
Parental sex preferences for children have been documented in many native populations, but much less evidence is available on immigrants’ preferences for the sex of their children. Using high quality longitudinal register data from Norway, a country with a recent immigration history, we estimate hazard regression models of third birth rates by the sex composition of previous children born. Results show that there is an overall preference for at least one child of each sex also among immigrants, and that certain regions have strong preferences for boys. Sensitivity tests indicate that the age at arrival does not affect the conclusions. In sum, the findings support theories emphasizing cultural persistence, rather than theories of rapid integration and adaption of immigrants.
Keywords: immigrants, fertility, parental sex preferences, children, family composition, register data, Norway
JEL Classification: J13, J15
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation