The family formation of immigrants who arrive as children

What is the project about?

This project studies three aspects of family formation that are determinants of immigrant welfare: partnership status, intermarriage, and the timing of parenthood. We focus on immigrants who arrived in Sweden as children, and our central question is whether their exposure to Swedish society – via age at migration or residential segregation – has an impact on their family formation.

In addition, we explore the links between societal exposure, family dynamics, and socio-economic integration. To do this, we use longitudinal Swedish register data to study the lives of different types of immigrant, including unaccompanied children and the children of refugees.

Project research design

This project uses longitudinal micro-data on family formation across the entire life course for the whole population of Sweden, including information on small-area geography, intergenerational relationships, and migration background – such as country of birth, reason for migration and age at arrival. We apply a range of advanced quantitative methods to examine the links between exposure to Swedish society and family formation. We examine diversity by gender and migration background.

Participants

• Stockholm University Demography Unit

• University College London

• INED - The French Institute for Demografic Studies

• Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

• ETH Zürich and the Immigration Policy Lab

• Stanford University and Stanford Immigration Policy Lab