The determinants of the fertility desires of the children of immigrants living in Italy

Silvia Pierobon, Università di Padova
Alessandra Minello, European University Institute
Gianpiero Dalla Zuanna, Università di Padova

The number of children desired by first- and second-generation migrants is influenced by several factors, often closely related to their place of origin and migratory history. Using the ITAGEN2 survey – the first Italian dataset on immigrants’ children – we study the determinants of the fertility intentions of 11- to 14-year-old children of immigrants who live in Italy. With the use of multilevel models, we confirm an assimilatory perspective and show that the reproductive behaviour in the place of arrival strongly influences the fertility intentions of the children, whereas the reproductive attitudes of their ethnic group (measured with the fertility intentions of women living in the place of origin), while significant, are less relevant. Other individual characteristics, such as gender, sibling numbers and the timing of arrival in the host country, also play a relevant role.