Determinants of fertility behavior of foreign and native women: a comparative analysis of Buenos Aires Rio de Janeiro and Caracas.

The attempt is made to empirically estimate the extent to which family size is affected by changes in parental environment and to evaluate the impact differences of these changes for foreign and native women in Buenos Aires Rio de Janeiro and Caracas. Analysis concentrates on the effects of changing relative prices and available income and time resources as perceived by parents on their family size preferences. The main hypothesis examined is that the perception of child-related costs and of the income and time restraints along with fertility responses to income female labor market conditions desired quality of children and uncertainties in family formation are basically different between native and foreign women in each of the 3 cities. The data were obtained from the Urban Fertility Surveys. The sample of 5269 women living in Buenos Aires Rio de Janeiro and Caracas were classified by city nationality status and six 5-year age groups for a total of 36 classifications. The number of surviving children of each woman in each classification was then regressed on 5 independent variables - household income female participation in the labor force formal education completed parents expectation for their eldest sons socioeconomic mobility and offspring survival uncertainty - to ascertain the extent to which foreign and native households in each city perceive costs and constraints differently. The approach taken corroborates the views that fertility is a rational socioeconomic phenomenon and that the perception of child-related costs and of income and time restraints as these relate to family size determination are basically different between native and foreign women in all 3 cities. These empirical results suggest that as cities in Latin America become more economically developed households demand for children will be reduced the impact being stronger for foreign than for native women.