The Role of Migration on Fertility: Differences in Fertility Levels Among East Asian Migrants to the United States

Jeongsoo Kim, University of Texas at San Antonio
Gabriela Sanchez-Soto , University of Texas at San Antonio

The first-generation Korean immigrants in the U.S. have sustained higher levels of fertility than the home country whereas TFR in South Korea dropped at record-low in 2018. The estimated TFR of the first-generation Korean immigrants is higher by 0.4 on average. This study suggests that the extent of assimilation in the U.S. of the first-generation Korean immigrants correlate with the higher number of children, intertwined with socio-demographic and socio-economic determinants. The paper uses data on Korean immigrants in the American Community Survey (ACS) 2016 obtained through IPUMS-USA. Poisson regression model is used to examine the association between demographic and economic characteristics and the number of children at the household level. Contrary to the home country, results suggest that a new way of living among the first-generation Korean migrants correlates with higher fertility. Also, results support affordable housing in the U.S. correlate with higher fertility outcomes.

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 Presented in Session 7. Migration & Urbanization