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Number of Siblings and Educational Choices of Immigrant Children: Evidence from First- and Second-Generation Immigrants

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  • Meurs, Dominique

    (University Paris Ouest-Nanterre)

  • Puhani, Patrick A.

    (Leibniz University of Hannover)

  • von Haaren, Friederike

    (NIW Hannover, Leibniz Universität Hannover)

Abstract

We document the educational integration of immigrant children 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Meurs, Dominique & Puhani, Patrick A. & von Haaren, Friederike, 2015. "Number of Siblings and Educational Choices of Immigrant Children: Evidence from First- and Second-Generation Immigrants," IZA Discussion Papers 9106, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9106
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    1. Sylvie Dubuc, 2017. "Fertility and education among British Asian women: a success story of social mobility?," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 15(1), pages 269-291.
    2. Luigi Benfratello & Giuseppe Sorrenti & Gilberto Turati, 2020. "Tracking in the tracks in the Italian public schooling: Inequality patterns in an urban context," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2020(2), pages 39-70.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    quantity-quality trade-off; integration; migration; decomposition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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