Number of siblings and educational choices of immigrant children

evidence from first- and second-generation immigrants

authored by

Dominique Meurs, Patrick A. Puhani, Friederike Von Haaren-Giebel

Abstract

We document the educational integration of immigrant children in France and Germany with a focus on the link between family size and educational decisions and distinguishing particularly between first- and second-generation immigrants and between source country groups. First, for immigrant adolescents, we show family-size adjusted convergence to almost native levels of higher education track attendance from the first to the second generation of immigrants. Second, we find that reduced fertility is associated with higher educational outcomes for immigrant children, possibly through a quantity–quality trade-off. Third, we show that between one-third and the complete difference in family-size adjusted educational outcomes between immigrants from different source countries or immigrant generations can be explained by parental background. This latter holds true for various immigrant groups in both France and Germany, two major European economies with distinct immigration histories.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Labour Economics

External Organisation(s)

Universite Paris X Nanterre
INED Institut National d' Etudes Demographiques
University College London (UCL)
University of St. Gallen (HSG)
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Type

Article

Journal

Review of Economics of the Household

Volume

15

Pages

1137-1158

No. of pages

22

ISSN

1569-5239

Publication date

01.12.2017

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Sciences (miscellaneous), Economics and Econometrics

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-015-9320-y (Access: Closed)
https://www.cream-migration.org/publ_uploads/CDP_08_15.pdf (Access: Open)