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  5. Birthright Granted and Revoked: The Effects of Irish Citizenship Policy on Migrant Fertility

AEA Papers and Proceedings

ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)

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Birthright Granted and Revoked: The Effects of Irish Citizenship Policy on Migrant Fertility

  • Hisham Foad
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 112, May 2022
(pp. 391–95)
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Abstract

I examine Ireland's experiment with birthright citizenship between 1999 and 2004. Critics argue that birthright citizenship may induce higher migrant fertility and threaten national identity. I find that migrants arriving during birthright citizenship had lower fertility rates than those arriving before the policy was implemented and after it was revoked. These migrants were better educated and more likely to be employed, suggesting that birthright citizenship made Ireland a more attractive destination for high-skill migrants. I find evidence that non-UK migrants already in Ireland before 1999 increased fertility in response to birthright citizenship, though their fertility was still below that of natives.

Citation

Foad, Hisham. 2022. "Birthright Granted and Revoked: The Effects of Irish Citizenship Policy on Migrant Fertility." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 112: 391–95. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20221025

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
  • J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
  • K37 Immigration Law