Jiseon Baek

The phenomenon of immigrants exhibiting different childbearing behaviours has led to changes in fertility trends and has been observed in various societies. In the UK, certain ethnic minority groups, particularly those from high fertility countries, exhibit higher fertility levels than other ethnic groups, whilst some groups have consistently had lower fertility rates. Recent studies indicate that these differences are decreasing over time, and the fertility levels of descendants are becoming more similar to those of the host population. However, distinctive childbearing patterns between ethnic groups still exist across different generations. It is crucial to investigate the determinants of childbearing behaviours and their differences between and within ethnic groups, as this behaviour pattern can significantly affect society.

This study aims to investigate the determinants of fertility among UK-born ethnic minority groups, using individual-level data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). Additionally, this study will compare the performance of multilevel simultaneous equations event history models and the parametric g-formula in measuring the effect of individuals’ time-varying characteristics on their childbearing behaviour.

This research has the potential to make both methodological and substantive contributions by comparing the performance of two different methods in considering unobserved and time-varying confounders; this can lead to advancing the field of fertility research and conclude different factors affecting childbearing behaviour. Utilising individual-level longitudinal data will enable the study to take a micro perspective on the childbearing behaviours of individuals and appreciate fertility trends among UK-born ethnic minorities at the macro level.

I studied social welfare for my bachelor's and first master's degree at Seoul Women's University. My second master's focused on quantitative research methods at the University of Edinburgh. I am currently a PhD student looking at fertility at the University of St. Andrews, as well as an affiliated student at the International Max Planck Research School. My PhD research is funded by ESRC (SGSSS).