Lowest low fertility in an urban context: the role of migration in Turin, Italy

✍ Scribed by Francesca Michielin

• Book ID: 105361062
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 136 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1544-8444
• DOI: 10.1002/psp.337

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

In countries with so‐called ‘lowest‐low’ fertility, the lowest fertility levels are seen in the cities. The main reason for this is the difference in the cost of living, combined with income constraints in cities, compared with rural areas. If we focus our attention on the centre of an urban area, migration needs to be taken into account, since migrants may have particularly low fertility levels. In this paper we use the Turin Longitudinal Study, which has data on all people who have ever been residents of Turin (Italy) during the period 1971–2001. We study the interdependencies between fertility and out‐migration choices for a selected group from the 1956 birth cohort. Our findings underline the important role of economic resources and life‐cycle events which seem to guide both fertility and migration behaviours. Moreover, while having a child significantly hampers long‐distance migration, it has less impact on short‐distance moves. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.