Does upward or downward mobility matter? An explanation of fertility among foreign wives in Korea

The main purpose of this study is to explore the direction of mobility and socioeconomic differentials in fertility among foreign wives in Korea. Special attention is focused on the effects of foreign wives’ perception for upward mobility on fertility. Changes in relative economic status through marriage are referred to as the direction of mobility, as highly influential factors to explain the fertility behavior of foreign wives. An analytical model of the causal structure was set up with direction of mobility, and socioeconomic level as explanation variables for this study. The 2009 Korean National Multi-culture Family Survey was used. The study sample is composed of foreign wives (Korean-Chinese, Han-Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipina and Cambodian) under the age of 49 married to Korean men. Preliminary results of the analysis are found to be consistent with the hypothesis of the direction of mobility. The perception for direction of mobility exerts an independent effect on fertility, apart from socioeconomic and demographic variables. The results show that foreign wives who perceive their marriage as upward mobility tend to have a greater number of children.