Fertility and Migrants’ Integration: Social Norms Change after Forced Migration

Abdurrahman B. Aydemir, Sabanci University
Giacomo Battiston, Berlin School of Economics
Riccardo Franceschin, Sabanci University
Ebru Sanlitürk, Max Planck Institute for demographic Research

Migrant fertility behavior has long been a focus area for various disciplines in social sciences. However, less is known about refugee fertility behavior, partially due to the lack of large-scale data. In the aftermath of the recent refugee inflows, the fertility behavior of forced migrants once again became a topic of interest for both researchers and policymakers. This study aims to collect data on the fertility preferences and intentions of forced migrants and shed light on their fertility behavior and preferences in line with the social norms about fertility in the host country. We focus on the case of Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey, a forced migrant population of more than three million. We conduct a survey, randomizing the respondents to receive information on the fertility behavior and intentions of Syrians in Turkey, information on the fertility behavior and intentions of the general population in Turkey, and no information. We then investigate the impact of the information treatment (social norms) on fertility preferences, fertility intentions, and the expected stigma for the Syrians in Turkey, controlling for a set of socio-demographic characteristics as well as the presence of native-migrant interactions.

Keywords: Migrant Populations and Refugees, Fertility, Econometrics , International Migration

See extended abstract.