Sex imbalances at birth in migratory context in Western Europe: evidence from Italy

This paper aims to explore SRB of migrants in Italy in order to shed light on the phenomenon of sex selection at birth and to help to address policies against that practice. Our objective is to analyze births from mothers with a foreign background from countries where sex selection at birth is widespread and that are among the largest immigrant communities in Italy. The paper aims at assessing if a skewed sex ratio at birth is observed also among overseas communities and what are the possible factors affecting skewed SRB in migratory context. Data stems from the Survey on births from the Resident Population Registers, from Survey on Income and living conditions of families with migrants held by ISTAT in 2009 and from the First Regional Survey on Sexual and Reproductive Health of Migrant Women held in Lombardy in 2010.