Persistent low fertility among the East Asia descendants in the United States: perspectives and implications

We focus on a small but growing segment of the U.S. population, those who identify as Chinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK), and compare CJK fertility to other race/ethnic groups in the United States. CJK women in the U.S. exhibit a distinct, pervasive, and persistent pattern of late and low fertility with nearly all births occurring within marriage; this pattern displays a strong parallel to their counterparts in their countries of origin. To accompany this description, we offer a perspective on fertility difference that has broad applicability and that does not consistently predict that differences will disappear/remain. This discussion unites the literature on assimilation, segmented assimilation and pluralistic outcomes and processes. We also discuss the possible implications of these findings for country level policies to increase fertility. Most generally, these discussions are a corrective to demographer’s penchant for predicting secular change and convergence.