Fluctuations in the Fertility of Immigrant Women in Spain over Four Categories of Descendants. Is There an Intergenerational Convergence with the Fertility of Native Women?

Jesús García Gómez , Universidad de Salamanca
Alberto Del Rey Poveda, University of Salamanca
Mikolaj Stanek Baranowski, University of Salamanca
Rafael Grande, Universidad de Málaga

During the 1990s fertility in Spain decreased notably, a situation that was reversed at the start of the 21st Century. At the same time migration flows to Spain from countries with high levels of fertility increased drastically. Ever since, the fertility of immigrant women has been an issue on the public and scientific agenda. However, due to the lack of adequate sources of information, little is known about the fertility of the female offspring of immigrants residing in Spain. This study overcomes this issue by using a new database which links Natural Movement of the Population records (from 2011 to 2016) to the 2011 Spanish Census to analyse how likely immigrant women from different countries of origin and four categories of their descendants had at least one child between 2011 and 2016 compared to native women. The analysis was carried out using a logistic regression model with various sociodemographic controls, and Average Marginal Effects are estimated. A convergence with female natives was noted in the second generation of African and European immigrants, but not among South American women. Regardless of the country of origin, immigrants who were between 9 and 16 years old when they came to Spain had greater probabilities of having at least one child in the period indicated than those who arrived at a younger or older age.

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 Presented in Session P1. Poster Session Fertility, Family and the Life Course