Ethnic Minorities Integration Processes: Reproductive Choices and Education of Immigrant and Second Generation Women in the U.K.

Sylvie Dubuc, University of Oxford

We provide novel fertility data for immigrant and second generation women in the UK, by ethnic groupings using the LFS-OCM method (with cross-sectional and pseudo-cohort comparisons). Results reveal intergenerational fertility transitions that strongly contribute to the fertility convergence between ethnic groups and indicating degrees of intergenerational adaptation to the UK mainstream, although ethnic differences remain. The analysis of fertility by educational attainment of women reveals consistent educational association with fertility patterns across immigrant and ethnic groups, thus providing evidence for educational/structural factors impacting significantly on ethnic fertility differentials and intergenerational changes. Findings are discussed in the context of the theoretical framework explaining assimilation processes, and including a departure from the classical assimilation theory to explain the fertility of some well-established minority groups in he UK.