Parental age gaps among immigrants and their descendants: adaptation across time and generations?

Uggla, Caroline and Wilson, Ben (2021) Parental age gaps among immigrants and their descendants: adaptation across time and generations? Population Studies. ISSN 0032-4728

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Abstract

Age gaps between partners have undergone dramatic changes in high-income countries over the past century. Yet, there has been little focus on age gaps for immigrants and their descendants. This is an important omission because age gaps can be interpreted as a macro-level indicator of intergenerational adaptation. We examine the age gaps of biological parents (childbearing partners) among immigrants and their descendants in Sweden, a country with high gender equality and a stable mean age gap. Using longitudinal, whole-population data, we examine changes in age gaps for cohorts born 1950–86. Cohort trends in age gaps often follow very different patterns for male and female immigrants, with limited evidence of adaptation across cohorts. However, there is considerable evidence of adaptation towards the Swedish norm among the second generation, including from direct comparison between immigrants and their children. The largest differences between women and men are seen among the first generation with a Swedish-born partner.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rpst20
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Authors
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Date Deposited:	17 Feb 2022 00:08
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2024 19:45
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/113765

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