Marriage Migration Versus Family Reunification: How Does the Marriage and Migration History Affect the Timing of First and Second Childbirth Among Turkish Immigrants in Germany?

Abstract

Our study focuses on the fertility of first-generation female and male Turkish migrants in Germany. To evaluate whether timing effects such as fertility disruption or an interrelation of marriage, migration and childbirth occur, we examine first and second births in the years before and after immigration to Germany. The Turkish sample of the Generations and Gender Survey which was conducted in 2006 offers the unique opportunity to examine Turkish immigrants as a single immigrant category. We question the common understanding that Turkish immigrants who arrived to Germany after 1973 mainly arrived for family reunification resulting in high birth intensities immediately after immigration. To distinguish different circumstances under which male and female immigrants have arrived to Germany, we include the combined marriage and migration history of the couple. We find that first birth probabilities are elevated during the years immediately following migration. But this effect is not universal among migrants with different marriage and migration histories. It appears that the arrival effect of high birth intensities is particularly high among female immigrants and is evident only among marriage migrants, that is Turks who married a partner who already lived in Germany at the time of the wedding. By contrast, among those who immigrated for family reunification, we do not find such an arrival effect.

Natives’ and Immigrants’ Gender Preferences for Children in Germany

“…Comparing major migrant groups, Polish women exhibit the lowest and Turkish ones the highest fertility (Schmid and Kohls 2009). The Turkish case is particularly well investigated: Next to elevated first birth probabilities among female migrants in the years immediately following migration (Wolf 2016), there is also evidence of higher first and second birth risks among '1.5 generation' immigrants (that is, those born in Turkey but raised in Germany); see Krapf and Wolf (2015). Highly educated second-generation Turkish migrants, however, 2018largely adopted their fertility behavior to non-migrant Germans (also see Naderi 2015).…”

Declined Total Fertility Rate Among Immigrants and the Role of Newly Arrived Women in Norway

“… 1 Examples include Haug et al ( 2002 ) and Sobotka ( 2008 ) for European overviews; Abbasi-Shavazi and McDonald ( 2000 ) and Carmichael et al ( 2003 ) for Australia; Zeman et al ( 2015 ) for Austria; Sobotka ( 2011 ) for Austria, Germany and Switzerland; Bélanger et al ( 2002 ), Woldemicael and Beaujot ( 2012 ) and Adserà and Ferrer ( 2010 , 2011 , 2014 , 2016 ) for Canada; Puur et al ( 2017 ) for Russians in Estonia, Toulemon ( 2004 ) and Héran et al ( 2007 ) for France; Adserà et al ( 2012 ) for Canada, UK and France; Mayer and Riphahn ( 2000 ), Milewski ( 2007 , 2010 ), Schmid and Kohls ( 2010 ), Stichnoth et al ( 2013 ), Cygan-Rehm ( 2014 ) and Wolf ( 2016 ) for Germany; Mussino and Strozza ( 2012 ), Mussino et al ( 2015 ), Ortensi ( 2015 ) and Giannantoni and Strozza ( 2015 ) for Italy; Goldstein et al ( 2009 ) for Greece, Italy and Spain; Garssen and Nicolaas ( 2008 ) and Fokkema et al ( 2008 ) for the Netherlands; Castro Martín and Rosero-Bixby ( 2011 ), del Rey and Grande ( 2015 ), Kraus and Castro-Martín ( 2017 ) and González-Ferrer et al ( 2017 ) for Spain; Andersson ( 2004 ), Persson et al ( 2010 ), Persson ( 2013 ) and Persson and Hoem ( 2014 ) for Sweden; Tromans et al ( 2009 ), Coleman and Dubuc ( 2010 ), Dubuc ( 2012 ), Waller et al ( 2012 ), Dormon ( 2014 ), Wilson ( 2015 ), Kulu and Hannemann ( 2016 ), Robards and Berrington ( 2016 ) and Wilson and Kuha ( 2017 ) for UK; Blau and Francine ( 1992 ), Kahn ( 1994 ), Carter ( …”

Visualising Immigrant Fertility -- Profiles of Childbearing and their Implications for Migration Research

“…Furthermore, even in contexts where data limitations make it difficult to plot fertility profiles, we hope that the visualisations presented here can illuminate some of the challenges of measuring immigrant fertility, raise awareness of each measure's strengths and weaknesses, and guide researchers when choosing the most relevant approach for their study. (Coleman 1994;Dormon 2014;Fokkema et al 2008;Héran and Pison 2007;Iliffe 1978;Robards et al 2011;Toulemon 2004;Tromans et al 2007;Van Landschoot et al 2014;Zumpe et al 2012) Adjusted TFR comparison a Survey or administrative data (Kulu et al 2019;Persson and Hoem 2014;Toulemon 2006) Measures based on event history approaches Survey or administrative data on birth histories (Andersson 2004;González-Ferrer et al 2017;Jensen and Ahlburg 2004;Kulu 2005;Giorguli Saucedo 2002, 2007;Milewski 2010b;Mussino et al 2010;Puur et al 2017;White et al 1995;Wolf 2016) Measures of number of children ever born…”