Fertility patterns and sex composition preferences in immigrant-native unions in Sweden

Bibliographic Data

ID4896246
AuthorsAnnika Elwert (0000-0002-4587-1198, Lund University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume78
Issue2
Pages289-304
Publication date2024-05-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopulation Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-4728 • E-ISSN: 1477-4747
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00324728.2023.2211045
PMID37261933
OpenAlexW4379051530
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited60

Intermarriage between immigrants and native individuals highlights the need to study childbearing as a joint decision of couples, because fertility preferences are likely to differ for the two partners involved. This study focuses on Sweden, where the majority population holds a relative preference for daughters but many immigrants come from countries with son preferences. Using longitudinal registers for the period 1990-2009, I analyse third-birth risks according to the sex composition of previous children and type of union. Doing so allows the study of preferences from behavioural data: couples with a daughter preference, for example, are more likely to have another child if their two previous children were boys. Results show that third-birth risks tend to be higher in unions between Swedish women and immigrant men, whereas unions between Swedish men and immigrant women tend to exhibit lower third-birth risks. Son preferences are rarely realized in intermarriages

Art · Composition (language) · Demographic economics · Economics · Fertility · Geography · Immigration · Population · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Global Maternal and Child Health