The Relationship between Migration and Birth Spacing: Evidence from Nang Rong District, Buriram Province, Thailand

Sukanya Chongthawonsatid, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand
Barbara Entwisle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Aree Jampaklay, Mahidol University
Pimonpan Isarabhakdi, Mahidol University

This study examines differences in birth spacing between migrants and non-migrants drawing on retrospective event history data and using the Prentice, Williams and Petersen, or PWP model, for repeated events. The results show that migrants are less likely to have a birth and to have longer birth spacing than non-migrants. There are negative effects on fertility for women who ever moved, are current migrants, or more frequent migrants. Given current low levels of fertility in Thailand, the impact on the interval between the second birth is of particular interest. This interval is longer for women who ever moved and for current migrants compared to non-migrants, controlling for age at marriage, years of marriage, education, occupation, household and community factors. This study confirms hypotheses of selectivity, disruption, and adaptation effects of migration on fertility. Education and occupation also have powerful effects on the timing of births.