Generational Differences in the Fertility of Immigrant Populations in the United States

Sarah Walchuk Thayer, University of California, Berkeley

This paper examines the determinants of fertility differentials among immigrant populations in the United States. The first section of the paper examines fertility differentials across generations and across Hispanic, Asian, and European origin groups using pooled CPS fertility supplements from 2000 to 2004. I find that the patterns of childbearing often do not follow what assimilation theory would predict, particularly among second generation women of Hispanic origin. This provides the context in which to examine children of immigrants more closely. The second part of the paper focuses on the second generation specifically, in an examination of whether and how cultural values from the origin country interact with the U.S. context to affect fertility outcomes. In this section I examine how community and school characteristics, parent immigrant “composition”, parent preferences, and the individual’s own expectations influence their family formation outcomes.