American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Marriage, Fertility, and Cultural Integration in Italy
American Economic Review
(pp. 3423–63)
Abstract
We study cultural integration as an equilibrium outcome of marital matching along cultural and education lines and intrahousehold investment decisions regarding fertility and cultural socialization. Our model allows us to identify cultural-ethnic-group-specific investment parameters and spousal preferences for marital matching. Structural estimates reveal a strong demand to preserve cultural identity on the part of immigrants and limited acceptance of the immigrants' cultural diversity on the part of natives. Furthermore, these estimates reveal a substantial heterogeneity of the parental value of children's education across cultures. Nonetheless, our estimates simulate substantial—though heterogeneous—cultural integration rates across immigrant groups.Citation
Bisin, Alberto, and Giulia Tura. 2026. "Marriage, Fertility, and Cultural Integration in Italy." American Economic Review 116 (9): 3423–63. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20241404Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D13 Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification