Influences of origin and destination on migrant fertility in Europe

Abstract

The current study examines the quantum of childbearing of migrants from low-fertility contexts (Poland and Romania) at multiple destinations (Italy and the UK), and compares them to stayers at origin and to non-migrants at destination, combining the multi-origin/multi-destination approach with the ‘context-of-origin’ perspective. Using data from the Labour Force Surveys (2009-2015) and adopting a gender and a couple perspective, we show that Polish and Romanian women have fewer children than non-migrants at destinations. Romanian migrant women and men have a fertility similar to that of stayers at the origin, especially in UK, suggesting a socialization pattern for this group. Our findings also suggest the presence of the disruption mechanism for migrants, mainly in the short term, combined with a ‘catch-up’ in the long run explained by family reunification, primarily in Italy. However, the ‘catch-up’ over time of residence is found to be slower compared to previous studies. Finally, we find selection into migration and into different destination play an important role.