Migration and Fertility in Malaysia: A Tale of Two Hypotheses

Abstract

The impact of migration on fertility has been a popular topic of inquiry but has often yielded ambiguous and contradictory findings. The purpose of this article is to suggest a conceptual and methodological framework which resolves much of the ambiguity and to demonstrate the framework's usefulness for analyzing migration and fertility in Malaysia. Specifically, two models are formulated based upon the additive influences of place of origin with place of destination and the interactive effects of migration per se. These models are then tested using data from the 1966–67 West Malaysian Family Survey. It is found that the additive or “assimilation” model accounts for most of the covariation of migration and fertility in Malaysia. However, two interesting exceptions, rural to urban and urban to small town migrants, require use of both models. The additive, residential effects are then analyzed in terms of their sociodemographic dimensions.