Citizenship, fertility, and parental investments Articles uri icon

authors

  • AVITABILE, CIRO
  • CLOTS FIGUERAS, IRMA
  • MASELLA, PAOLO

publication date

  • October 2014

start page

  • 35

end page

  • 65

issue

  • 4

volume

  • 6

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1945-7782

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1945-7790

abstract

  • Citizenship rights are associated with better economic opportunities for immigrants. This paper studies how in a country with a large fraction of temporary migrants the fertility decisions of foreign citizens respond to a change in the rules that regulate child legal status at birth. The introduction of birthright citizenship in Germany in 2000, represented a positive shock to the returns to investment in child human capital. Consistent with Becker's "quality-quantity" model of fertility, we find that birthright citizenship leads to a reduction in immigrant fertility and an improvement in health and socio-emotional outcomes for the children affected by the reform.

keywords

  • children; immigrants; quality; obesity; overweight; employment; quantity; naturalization; determinants; endowments