The Same Fertility Ideals as in the Country of Origin? A Study of the Personal Ideal Family Size among Immigrant Women in Italy

The role of the personal ideal family size for international migrants has rarely been studied in the current debate on fertility and migration in the European context. It is not known to which extent the reduction of fertility observed among immigrants who settle in a country where fertility is lower than in their country of origin is the result of a change in fertility norms among those immigrants. The study of migrants’ ideals family size has the potential to shed light on fertility norms without the interference of economic conditions and migration-related disruptive phenomena. Due to the complexity of its migration context, Italy is an interesting destination country for studying changes in migrants’ ideal family sizes. This paper uses data from the survey of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) on immigrant families conducted in 2011-12. We compare the personal ideal family size of women of reproductive age with the prevalent norm in their country of origin, applying a multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results show that the country of origin has an important role in the determination of immigrants’ ideal family sizes. Women from countries where large families are the ideal are more likely to show a lower personal ideal family size compared to their non-migrant co-nationals, while women from countries where two children are considered ideal mostly share the same norm. The occurrence of fertility preferences expressed in a non-numeric form (e.g. “Up to God”) changes between women with different countries of origin. This study confirms that conformity with the ideal of the country of origin is more likely among women who migrated as adults. At the same time, the number of years spent in the destination country is not significantly associated with a shift away from the norms prevalent in the country of origin. Finally, female empowerment and gender equity show their effects mainly on the reduction of non-numeric responses. *             This article belongs to a special issue on migrant fertility

Mother to daughter transmission of Female Genital Cutting in Egypt, Burkina Faso and Senegal

The aim of article is to assess the determinants of mothers to daughters transmission of female genital cutting (FGC) in Senegal, Burkina Faso and Egypt. Using the most recent DHS surveys the study confirms that the main dimension related to daughters’ circumcision is mother’s personal experience as circumcised mothers more likely to perpetrate the practice on daughters. Policies aim at changing this social norm could therefore generate a virtuous circle: for each child who is not circumcised, a risk-free third-generation is projected. Factors related to women’s empowerment as better education, higher autonomy and wealth of the family as well social environment against FGC also discourage the continuation of the practice and protect daughters from the risk to be circumcised in each country analyzed.

Who Wants to Become Italian? A Study of Interest in Naturalisation among Foreign Migrants in Italy

Since the early 1990s, Italy, along with other countries situated at Europe’s periphery, has become an attractive destination for migrants due to its lax regulation of migration and its job market. Despite its restrictive naturalisation laws, an increasing number of migrants are becoming eligible for Italian citizenship, which has led to a growing number of naturalisations in recent years. Existing research exploring naturalisation and its determinants has found migrants’ ability to attain citizenship strongly depends on their interest in becoming a member of the host state, requirements (as defined by the host country), and their capacity to overcome various constraints such as the costs involved in the naturalisation process. However, few empirical studies have focused on immigrants’ interest in naturalisation. To fill this gap, we analyse migrants’ interest in naturalisation and how it correlates to their eligibility. This paper relies on the most recent data on interest in naturalisation from the 2018 and 2019 waves of the Regional Observatory for Integration and Multiethnicity of Lombardy (Italy). The results show that not all migrants are interested in naturalisation after assessing its perceived costs and benefits, thus confirming an instrumental approach to citizenship. Interest is mostly related to the legislation and conditions in the country of origin. Moreover, the relationship between eligibility and interest is highly dependent on civil stratification, and eligibility is not directly associated with interest

Traces in the shadow: Occupational outcomes of previously undocumented migrants in Italy

Using a representative sample of currently legal third-country immigrants in Italy, obtained from the Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens survey, this article examines the long-term labour market consequences of previous undocumented spells. First, formerly undocumented immigrants are identified using retrospective information on respondents' legal status. Second, immigrants are classified according to the duration of irregular spells before the achievement of the first residence permit. Third, current labour market outcomes are investi-gated to account for the endogeneity underlying the previous undocumented history. Results show that even though formerly undocumented immigrants are more likely to participate in the labour market, they are more likely to be employed in underqualified occupations than continuously legal immigrants. The duration of the irregular experience affects occupational qualification negatively, among both men and women. The lack of legal entry channels and policies to plan and regulate migration to Italy may reinforce labour market segmentation, exposing migrants to long-term occupational downgrade

The impact of the law in the prevention of FGM : legal analysis

none4siFemale genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), as a topic, has evolved over the last eighty years, from being almost unheard of outside practicing countries [1], to a subject about which, there is now greater awareness. However, many misconceptions prevail. We support the idea that everyone needs to know basic facts about FGM/C, that all health care providers should be involved in avoiding new cases and trained to provide care for existing ones, and that beyond these consensual aspects, there are areas of doubt and lack of evidence which scientists and policy makers need to identify, understand and address. In this area of “expertise”, the present issue of RH contains abstracts from presentations and e-posters from a conference which took place in Geneva in March 2017 titled “Management and prevention of female genital mutilation/cutting: sharing data and experiences, improving collaboration”.noneFarina P; Leye E; Ortensi LE; Pecorella CFarina P; Leye E; Ortensi LE; Pecorella

Labour market profiles of Albanian migrants in Italy: Evidence from Lombardy 2001–2015

Albanian migration to Italy represents one of the most intense and iconic East-West migration flows of recent decades and a paradigmatic case of intra-Mediterranean migration. This paper uses a unique data set collected by the Lombardy region’s Observatory of Integration and Multiethnicity in 15 annual cross-sectional surveys over the period 2001–2015. Analysis of this data set enables us to address three questions: first, what are the main factors influencing the labour market performance of Albanian migrants in Lombardy compared with other migrants? Second, what were the differential effects of the post-2008 economic crisis on migrants’ employment stability? Third, were there any significant gender differences in labour market profiles and outcomes? Our main finding is that Albanian migrants have a lower probability of (long-term)unemployment and irregular employment and higher probability of employment compared with other migrants, an effect that is partially attributable to the different structural composition of the Albanian migrant group

L'immigrazione in Europa

Nel corso del 2018 l'immigrazione \ue8 diventata una delle principali questioni dell'Unione europea e dei Paesi che ne fanno parte. Lo dimostrano gli ampi spazi riservati a questo tema dai media, in particolare quelli italiani, e la crescente attenzione dei dibattiti politici e dell'opinione pubblica. In questo Ventiquattresimo Rapporto Fondazione ISMU stima che la popolazione straniera in Italia, al 1\ub0 gennaio 2018, abbia raggiunto quota 6 milioni e 108mila unit\ue0 e analizza i flussi migratori e i diversi aspetti di tale presenza, partendo dalla constatazione che l'elevata rilevanza assegnata alle migrazioni, e la loro drammatizzazione e strumentalizzazione, si registra in un anno in cui i movimenti migratori verso l'Europa sono molto diminuiti. Il 2018 ha visto il primato degli arrivi di immigrati passare dall'Italia alla Spagna, dove sono giunte oltre 45mila persone da gennaio a ottobre; in Italia, invece, nello stesso periodo sono sbarcati 21mila migranti, un numero inferiore anche a quello che riguarda la Grecia (24mila). Nonostante il considerevole calo degli sbarchi sulle coste europee nel corso dell'ultimo biennio e la diminuzione dei decessi in mare in numero assoluto, \ue8 per\uf2 aumentato il tasso di mortalit\ue0, 21 persone ogni mille sbarcati. Oltre alle consuete aree di attenzione (demografia, normativa, lavoro, scuola, salute), il Rapporto analizza gli atteggiamenti degli italiani nei confronti degli immigrati; affronta il rapporto tra Europa e immigrazione, partendo dagli esiti delle elezioni politiche in Italia e toccando alcune tematiche di grande attualit\ue0 quali il dibattito su Brexit e la crisi del sistema europeo d'asilo; approfondisce alcuni aspetti fondamentali quali la trasformazione delle appartenenze religiose a fronte delle migrazioni internazionali, il fenomeno dei minori non accompagnati e l'attivazione dei corridoi umanitari

Engendering the fertility/migration nexus: The role of women's migratory patterns in the analysis of fertility after migration

Background: Although women currently constitute half of the international migrant population, most theoretical frameworks used in the study of migration are still gender-neutral. Surprisingly, this is also true of the study of migrant fertility. In particular, the main theories regarding migration and fertility do not take into account the impact of the role of women in emigration in the analysis of fertility after migration. Objective: This paper proposes a conceptualization of women's migratory patterns and tests the impact of this gendered dimension on fertility after migration. A survey of migrants conducted in Italy will be used as a case study. Based on our results, the role of the migratory pattern will be incorporated into the framework of mainstream hypotheses about migration and fertility. Methods: The analysis is based on a retrospective cross-sectional survey of about 2,500 women living in Italy in 2010. Censored Poisson regression and event history analysis will be applied in the analysis. Results: Women's migratory patterns emerge as a key variable in the timing of the first birth and in the overall number of births after migration. Compared to independent and first migrants, family migrants tend to have a first child more quickly after migration, and they have a higher overall number of children after migration. Conclusions: The migratory patterns of women represent a key dimension which has not yet been properly included in the study of migrants' fertility. I propose some hypotheses regarding the incorporation of this topic into the framework of the study of fertility and migration. These hypotheses may be tested in future studies

The Integration of Forced Migrants Into the Italian Labor Market

Forced migrants in Italy have so far received limited assistance and follow integration trajectories into the job market typical of economic migrants. Using a multilevel statistical approach and a new source of survey data, this article describes key aspects of the economic integration of forced migrants. Particular attention is paid to testing the hypothesis that there are significant differences between them and other migrants in the risk of unemployment and in access to the primary job market. Results from this study show a higher risk of unemployment than for other migrants but no difference in their access to regular employment