What is the association between the ethnic composition of neighbourhoods, workplaces and schools and the formation of mixed‐ethnic unions?

Abstract

Although ethnic diversity and the types of interpersonal ties that are experienced in various domains of life may vary considerably, studies regarding the local marriage market rarely focus on the relationship between the formation of mixed-ethnic unions and the ethnic composition of more than one spatial context. In this study, by

Ethnic context and fertility differential in post‐Soviet Kazakhstan

“…Population geography in recent years also pays increasing attention to how racial/ethnic composition at various spatial levels (neighbourhood, census area, county, etc) has an overarching effects on individual demographical outcomes, including marriage, health, and fertility (Feng et al, 2013;Kim et al, 2020;Puur et al, 2022).…”

“…Second, the spatial diffusion process indicates that groups of higher density may exert a multiplicative effect on consolidating social support and pronatalist norms (Agadjanian & Nedoluzhko, 2022;Puur et al, 2022).…”

“…From a spatial perspective, the human ecological theory posits that spatial proximity to other social members influences individual behaviours. Proximity to co‐ethnic members and density of same‐race neighbourhoods exert a greater pressure to follow fertility norms; diffusion of resources and social support is also affected by the racial/ethnic context comprised of heterogenous groups (Brown et al, 2009; Puur et al, 2022).…”

“…Racial/ethnic composition attracts an increasing attention in population geography due to the growing migrant population forming distinct settlement and neighbourhood patterns in multicultural societies (Zwiers et al, 2018). Studies have found that diversity and the share of minorities improve the self‐reported physical and mental health among minorities across the world (Lu & Yang, 2020; Yang & Yang, 2018); the density and share of co‐ethnic members at various spatial levels are related to the likelihood of marriage (Feng et al, 2013; Puur et al, 2022). Among the few who have brought the perspective of ethnic composition into fertility research (Kim et al, 2020; Kim & Song, 2015) found that the ethnic composition of the neighbours affects fertility behaviours among immigrant women.…”

“…This ethnic context pattern then affects demographic outcomes. The reinforcing process of mutual support and cohesion buildup among minorities in places with a greater density and share of co‐ethnic members leads to profertility behaviours (Puur et al, 2022). Another vein of literature hallmarked by racial stratification theory argues that the effects of being a minority member, including all the social and behavioural ramifications, are contingent on the context that produces the relative meaning of being a minority (Brown, 2018; McDaniel, 1996; Yang et al, 2019).…”