Natives' and Immigrants' Gender Preferences for Children in Germany

Little research has been conducted yet investigating gender preferences among immigrant parents in Western host countries. We add further empirical evidence to this sparse literature by analyzing pooled micro-census data for the years 2005-2013 from Germany. Next to updating earlier findings on the native population, we assess parental gender preferences in two large and culturally distinct groups of immigrants in Germany, namely those with Turkish and Polish origins. Our analysis indicates both daughter and son preferences in contemporary Germany and supports the notion of potentially changing gender preferences within ethnic groups over time as well as continuous differences between ethnic groups of natives and immigrants in Western societies. Whereas the observed differences between natives and immigrants suggest incomplete cultural assimilation with regard to gender- and family-related attitudes and values, they barely contribute to explaining differential fertility behaviors, as effects sizes tend to be fairly similar across groups.