Fertility Assimilation of Immigrants : AVarying

This study presents the rst econometric application of the Poisson varying coeecient (PVC) model. This count data model is applied to investigate immigrant fertility adjustment after migration. Data on completed fertility are taken from the 1996 wave of the German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP). We nd evidence in favor of the assimilation model according to which immigrant fertility converges to native levels over time. Other determinants of completed fertility are marital history and female human capital, well in accordance with theoretical predictions. We wish to thank Julia Dannenberg for very able research assistance and Ralph Rotte for helpful comments. Comments by Ludwig Fahrmeir on parts of this work are gratefully acknowledged.