Volume 17 - Article 28 | Pages 821-858

The interrelationship of fertility, family maintenance and Mexico-U.S. Migration

By David P. Lindstrom, Silvia Giorguli Saucedo


Date received:	14 Dec 2006
Date published:	20 Dec 2007
Word count:	9104
Keywords:	fertility, life course, Mexico, migration
DOI:	10.4054/DemRes.2007.17.28

Abstract

This study examines the interrelationship between migration and marital fertility, using a bi-national sample of retrospective life histories collected in Mexican origin communities and U.S. destination areas. We treat couples as the unit of analysis and use discrete-time hazard models to examine: (1) how the timing and parity of births influence the occurrence of migration (to the U.S. or return to Mexico) and the type of migration (solo or couple), and (2) how current migration status and cumulative migration experience influence the likelihood of a birth.
Examining the effects of fertility on migration, and the effects of migration on the timing of births, we are able to address how couples integrate migration opportunities and fertility goals into family building strategies in a context where international circular migration is pervasive.

Author's Affiliation

David P. Lindstrom - Brown University, United States of America [Email]
Silvia Giorguli Saucedo - Centro de Estudios Demográficos, Urbanos y Ambientales, El Colegio de México, Mexico [Email]