MPIDR Working Paper

Migration and first-time parenthood: evidence from Kyrgyzstan

Nedoluzhko, L., Andersson, G.
MPIDR Working Paper WP-2006-020, 22 pages.
Rostock, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (July 2006)
Open Access

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the reproductive behavior of young women and men in Kyrgyzstan, with special emphasis on the demographic adjustment strategies of internal migrants in this post-Soviet Central Asian republic. We employ event-history techniques to data from the “Marriage, Fertility, and Migration” survey conducted in northern Kyrgyzstan in 2005 to estimate relative risks of becoming a parent. We demonstrate to what extent migration is part of the family building process and how it is related to elevated parenthood risks shortly after resettlement. We gain additional insight by information on factors such as the geographical destination of migration, and of retrospectively stated motives for the move. In addition, we reveal clear ethnic differences in the timing of entry into parenthood in Kyrgyzstan.
Keywords: Kyrgyzstan, fertility, migration
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