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Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der ArbeitInstitute for the Study of Labor
The Unknown Immigration:Incentives and Family Composition inInter-Country Adoptions to the United States
IZA DP No. 4547
November 2009
Fernando Antonio LozanoSherrie A. Kossoudji
The Unknown Immigration: Incentives
and Family Composition in Inter-Country Adoptions to the United States
Fernando Antonio Lozano Pomona College
and IZA
Sherrie A. Kossoudji
University of Michigan and IZA
Discussion Paper No. 4547 November 2009
IZA
P.O. Box 7240 53072 Bonn
Germany
Phone: +49-228-3894-0 Fax: +49-228-3894-180
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Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author.
IZA Discussion Paper No. 4547 November 2009
ABSTRACT
The Unknown Immigration: Incentives and Family Composition in Inter-Country Adoptions to the United States Children adopted from abroad are an immigrant group about which little is known. According to the U.S. Census more than one and a half million children living in the U.S. are adopted, with fifteen percent of them born abroad. In fact more than twenty thousand adopted orphans from abroad enter the country each year. The families who adopt these orphans are mostly white, wealthy, and well educated (Kossoudji, 2008). What are the characteristics of children who are adopted from abroad and what incentives drive families to adopt them? In this paper we use the 2000 census to illuminate the landscape of international adoption. We address three issues: 1) How do the demographic characteristics of the children adopted from abroad change as other countries open and shut the door to inter-country adoptions, changing the supply of available children? 2) U.S. born parents and foreign-born parents may have different incentives to adopt. How are these incentives reflected in the characteristics of the children they adopt? 3) What explains differences in the estimates of foreign-born adopted children in the Census and the number of visas granted by the State Department? JEL Classification: J13, J12 Keywords: immigrant children, international adoption Corresponding author: Fernando A. Lozano Department of Economics Pomona College 425 N. College Ave Claremont, CA 91711 USA E-mail: [email protected]
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I.Introduction
AccordingtotheU.S.Censusmorethanoneandahalfmillionchildrenunder
theageofeighteenlivingintheU.S.areadopted.Fifteenpercentofthesechildren
werebornabroad.Whiletheadoptionofforeign‐bornchildrenwasarelatively
isolatedoccurrenceearlyinthecentury,thenumberofforeign‐bornadopted
childrenarrivingintheUnitedStatesonadoptedorphanvisasrosefromjustover
8,000in1989(thefirstyearofnationaldatacollection)tomorethan18,000in
2000,theyearofthecensus.Theinflowoftheseforeign‐bornchildrenhasreshaped
thecompositionoftheaverageAmericanfamily,especiallyasadoptionhasbeen
usedasameansforfamilyformationamongparentsunabletohavetheirown
children(Bachrach,1983).Inthispaperweexplorethechangingsupplyofchildren
fromdifferentcountries,thecharacteristicsofchildrenadoptedfromabroad,and
howthesecharacteristicsvaryacrossparentswithdifferentcharacteristics.
Unsurprisingly,economistsandothersocialscientistshavepaidattentionto
theoutcomesofchildrenadoptedfromabroad(see,forexample,Sacerdote,2007;
Plug,2004).Yetthisliteraturedoesnotdiscussanysupplyissues.Inthisliteratureit
isassumedthatallparentswishingtoadoptfromabroadfacesimilarcostsand
incentives;andwillpursueacertainsetofcharacteristicsinchildren.Implicitly,
adoptingparentssearchforcharacteristicsthatwillsuccessfullyleadto“family
formation”.Forexample,thesecharacteristicsmaybeageorthegenderofthe
adoptedchild.Therearetworeasonswhyveryyoungchildrenaremoreappealing
amongadoptingparents:first,whenparentsadopttheywanttomaximizethe
lifetimeutilityderivedfromparenting,andmoretimeasaparentincreasesutility.
2
Second,childrenadoptedatanolderagemayhavemoreexposuretotheeffectsof
anadversebackground.Brooksetal.(2002)reportthat85%ofprospective
adoptingparentsarewillingtoadoptachildtwoyearsoryounger,whileonly45%
arewillingtoadoptachildoversixyearsold.Butparentsmayfaceverydifferent
incentivesandcostswhenadoptingfromabroad,andthesedifferenceswillyield
systematicdifferencesintheadoptionprocessandinthecharacteristicsofthe
childrenadopted.Parentsmaychoosetoadoptforhumanitarianreasons(child
centeredreasons),forexample,anincentivethatisnotdiscussedinthisliterature,
andmayfindadoptingolderchildrenmoresatisfactory.
Wefindthatthereareverycleardifferencesbetweenadoptingparentsborn
intheUnitedStatesandthosebornabroadintheiradoptingchoices.Whilethe
formertendtoadoptbabiesandinfants,thelattertendtoadoptolderchildren.In
addition,foreign‐bornparentswhoadoptchildrenfromtheirownbirthcountry
adoptchildrenwhoare,onaverage,olderthanthoseadoptedbyotherforeign‐born
parents.Theseresultscanbepuzzlingifweonlyconsiderthefamilyformation
incentivesoutlinedabove.OurevidencesuggeststhatU.S.bornparentsdoappearto
respondtotheincentivesthatleadtofamily‐formationadoption.Incontrast,
foreign‐bornadoptingparentsmayhavedifferentincentivestoadoptchildren,beit
thattheseparentsfacesocialpressuresfromtheircommunitiesoforiginorhavean
altruisticutilityfunction,whichismaximizedbyadoptingolderchildrenfromtheir
communitiesoforigin.Thecontributionsofthesepaperarethree‐fold:first,we
documentthatparentalcharacteristicsareimportantdeterminantsofadopted
children’scharacteristics,especiallydifferentparentcharacteristicsthatare
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associatedwithdifferentchild’sageatadoption;second,weexplorehowthese
characteristicsvaryacrosstimebetween1983and2000;thirdweconsidersupply
issuesandthevalidityofusingthecensustotalkaboutforeignbornadoptionsby
comparingtheestimatesofthenumberofadoptedchildrenusingthe2000
DecennialCensus,withthenumberofvisasgrantedbytheUSDepartmentofState.
II.The2000CensusandAdoptedChildren
Weusethe5%sampleofthe2000U.S.Censusforthedatainthispaper.The
2000censusasked,fortheveryfirsttime,therelationshipstatusoftheheadofthe
householdtoanyadoptedchildreninthehousehold.Beforethe2000census,
biologicalchildrenwereindistinguishablefromadoptedchildren.Werestrictour
sampletoadoptedchildrenundertheageof18.Inthe2000censustherewere59.8
millionbiologicalchildren,1.6millionadoptedchildren,and3.3millionstep‐
childrenundertheageofeighteenlivingwithhouseholdersintheUnitedStates.To
investigateonlyforeign‐bornadoptees,weuseadditionalinformationfromthe
census.Thecensusprovidesinformationontheplaceofbirthforallindividualsand,
forthosebornabroad,theyeartheimmigrantarrivedintheUnitedStates.The
actualdateofadoptionisnotenumeratedinthecensus.Usingtheimmigration
information,weinfertheage,andyear,atwhichachildbornabroadwasadopted
byassumingthattheyearthechildenteredtheUnitedStatesistheyearofadoption.
Wedonotknowifaforeignbornchildwasactuallyadoptedsometimebefore
immigratingtotheUnitedStates,sotheyearofadoptionweestimatemaybelater
thantheactualadoptiontookplace.Inmanycasesthisisonlyaminorproblemas
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manychildrenadoptedfromabroadareadoptedasinfantsortoddlers.Becausewe
focusoninter‐countryadoptionsweexcludefromthesamplealladoptedchildren
bornabroadwhoseparentswerebornabroadaswellandwhoseyearof
immigrationisthesameaseitherparent.Insomeanalyses,wecomparetheageof
adoptionindifferentyears.Sinceolderchildrenhaveagedoutofthehousehold,and
childrenadoptedatolderagesinearlieryearswillhavealreadyleftthehousehold,
werestricttheyearsofanalysisinthosecases.Whilethecensusisnottheoptimal
datasettoexaminechangesinadoptionovertimebecauseofthisproblem,it
affordsusafirstglimpseofchangingadoptionintheUnitedStatesduringacritical
periodofitsgrowth.
II.TheDemographyofAdoption
Figure1showsthenumberofadoptedforeign‐bornchildrenbyyearofbirth,
andthenumberofadoptedforeign‐bornchildrenbyyearofimmigration.We
includeboththeyearofbirthandtheyearofimmigrationinFigure1becausewedo
notknowtheexacttimeofadoption.Thenumberofadoptedforeign‐bornchildren
whoimmigrateeachyearincreasesthroughouttheentireperiodandskyrockets
after1993.Fortheearlieryears,thelownumbersmaybeanartifactofthedata,as
childrenwhowereadoptedintheearlieryearsaremuchmorelikelytobeoverthe
ageof18and/ornotlivinginthehouseholdduringthe2000census.Thus,the
numberofforeign‐bornadoptionsrecordedintheU.S.2000Censusisan
underestimateoftheactualnumberofadoptionsduringeachrecordedyear.
However,thegrowthofadoptionsinthe1990sisarealtrend.ThenumberofU.S.
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visasforadoptedchildrenrosethroughoutthedecadebecausechangesinthe
adoptionlawsinChina,Guatemala,andelsewhere.Thispositivesupplyshock
allowedAmericanfamiliestofindthedoorsfortheadoptionofyoungchildrenin
manycountriesopen.
Insummary,Figure1showsthattheagedistributionforchildrenborn
abroadismuchmoreuniformthanthetimeofmigration,indicatingthat(ofthe
childreninthehouseholdatthetimeofthecensus)childrenwereadoptedat
differentages.Eventhoughtheadoptionofbabiesfromabroadisthestereotype,
olderchildrenareadoptedaswell.
III.ForeignBornAdoptionandAdoptiveParents’Birthplace
Childrenwhoareadoptedfromabroadhavealwaysbeeninaunique
citizenshipcategoryandgrantedcitizenshipmorereadilythanmostother
immigrants.PracticewascodifiedrecentlywiththeChildCitizenshipActof2000,
whichmeansthatcitizenswhowishtoadoptabroadhavetherighttopetitionfor
theimmediateimmigrationofachildadoptedabroad.Iftheadoptionisfinalized
abroad,thechildbecomesacitizenuponentrytotheUnitedStatesusingtheIR3
visa.IftheadoptionisfinalizedintheUnitedStates,thechildenterstheUnited
StatesonanIR4visaandbecomesacitizenautomaticallywhenthecourtissuesthe
finaladoptiondecree.Legalresidents,however,mustpetitionforimmigration
underfamilypreferences,whichcouldtakeyears,althoughthereareexceptions:1
1 “The U.S. Department of State has clarified that U.S. permanent residents may petition for their adopted alien child to immigrate as a qualified derivative only if they completed the adoption prior to their admission as lawful permanent residents. In other words, only children who were adopted before their
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Adoptedchildrenoflegalresidentscanpetitionforcitizenshipaftertheageof
eighteen.
Potentialparentsmayhavedifferentincentivestoadopt.Mosteconomists
thinkofthetimespentwithone’sadoptedchildrenasanormalgood,andsothe
moreadvancedagetheadoptedchildis,thelowerwillbethepresentvalueofthe
utilityderivedfromadopting.Asaresult,parentswhoadopthaveincentivesto
adoptchildrenatasyounganageaspossible.Theprevalenceofforeign‐bornbabies
adoptedbyparentsintheUnitedStatesspeaksoftheseincentives.Parentswhoare
bornintheUnitedStatesarelikelytofitthemodeloftheinfertilecoupleorthe
coupledrivenbycharityincentivestoadoptayoungchildfromabroad.Butthe
incentivesforadoptionmayrestondifferentfactorsforforeign‐bornparentsinthe
UnitedStates.ParentswhowerebornabroadandimmigratedtotheUnitedStates
mayalsohaveincentivestoadoptbasedonfamilyorcommunityobligationsinthe
homecountryoronaltruisticmotivesrelatedtothehomecountry.These
obligationsormotivesloosenthetiebetweentheageofthechildandutilityor
benefitsfromtimespentwiththechild.
Asaresult,therearetwoprincipalsourcesofadoptionofchildrenborn
abroadandthecensusdatashowhowthosetwokindsofadoptionreflectthe
characteristicsoftheadultswhoadoptthem.Morethanthree‐quartersofthe
childrenadoptedfromabroadareadoptedbyparentswhowerebothborninthe
UnitedStates.Parentsborninothercountriesalsoadoptchildrenfromabroadand
parent became a Green Card holder and who satisfy the three requirements for adoption: (i.e., (1.) adoption before the age of 16; (2) two years custody by their adoptive parent; and (3) two years of residence with the parent) may immigrate into the U.S. together with their parent as a derivative.” Again, these children are excluded from the sample.
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householdswhereatleastoneparentisforeign‐bornareresponsibleforone‐
quarterofallchildrenadoptedfromabroad.Thesetwokindsofhouseholds,
however,haveverydifferentadoptionpatterns.Figure2showstheageofbirthand
theyearofimmigrationforchildrenadoptedbytwoU.S.bornparents(Panel1)and
thoseadoptedbyleastoneparentwhoisforeignborn(Panel2).Singleparents
withoutpartnersareincludedineachpanelbycountryofbirth.Theyearofbirth
andtheyearofimmigrationareverysimilarinPanel1whentheparentsareboth
U.S.born.ChildrenadoptedbytwoU.S.bornparentsareadoptedatanaverageage
ofthreeyearsold.Immigrationnumbersrisealongwithbirthdate.Largenumbers
ofchildrenborninayearareassociatedwithlargenumberofchildrenimmigrating
inayearwithapossiblesmalllag.Thesmalldipinthenumberofbirthsintheyears
justbeforethecensusyearindicatesthatbabiesonlyfromthosebirthyearshave
alreadybeenadopted.InthesecondpanelofFigure2,however,birthyearand
immigrationyearmoveinoppositedirections.Thenumberofchildrenimmigrating
eachyearrisesbutthenumberbornineachyearfallsovertimeforthesechildren.
Thereisahighproportionofadoptedchildreninthe2000censuswhowerebornin
the1980s.Butthehighestproportionofimmigrantchildrencameinthelate1990s.
Childrenadoptedbyforeign‐bornparentsareolder.Infact,theaverageageof
foreign‐bornchildrenatadoptionwhenatleastoneparentisforeignbornismore
thanfiveandahalfyearsold.
Parentswhoarebornabroadmayhaveincentivestoadoptthatare
systematicallydifferentfromthoseofparentsbornintheUnitedStates.They,too,
mayormaynothavefertilityproblems.Theymayadoptachildbecauseofthe
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deathofarelative.Inaddition,theymayhavefamilyorcommunityobligationsor
besubjecttopressurebypeoplefromhometoadoptachildtogivehimorhera
betterlife.Theymaysimplyfeelmorealtruistictowardchildrenfromtheirhome
countryandadoptforthesamehumanitarianreasonsbutwithamoretargeted
focus.Asaresult,two‐thirdsofthechildrenadoptedbyforeign‐bornparentscome
fromtheirhomecountry.Thenextfigure,Figure3,showsthesametrendsasFigure
2butforforeign‐bornparentswhoadoptfromthehomecountryandforeign‐born
parentswhoadoptfromadifferentcountry.Whilebothgroupsofparentsadopt
childrenwhoareolder,onaverage,thanthoseadoptedbyU.S.bornparents,those
adoptedfromthehomecountryaremucholderthanthoseadoptedfromadifferent
country.Theaverageageofadoptionissixandahalfyearsoldfortheformer,but
lessthanfouryearsoldforthelatter.
Figure4documentsthiscrucialdifferenceintheageatadoptionofchildren
adoptedbyforeign‐bornparentsandU.S.bornparents.Firstnoticethat,justasin
theothergraphs,anartifactofthedataisthatthelevelsofadoptionaretruncated
forhigherages.Buttheshapeoftheadoptionpatternsstillshowsthroughinthis
graph.Thedifferenceintheagesofadoptionforforeign‐bornadoptedchildrenare
starkwhencomparingparentswhenbothbornintheUnitedStatesandparents
whenneitherisbornintheUnitedStates.WhenbothparentsareU.S.born,nearly
one‐halfofalltheadoptedchildrenarebabiesatadoption.Another18percentare
ageoneand10percentareagetwo.Over84percentofchildrenareadoptedatage
fiveorbelow.Afterthat,thereisalowbutsimilarpercentageacrosstheages.
FamilieswithatleastoneparentU.S.bornhavekidswithsimilarcharacteristics,but
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withaslightlylowerpercentageofinfantsadopted.Incontrast,whenbothparents
areforeign‐born,only14percentoftheadopteesareinfantsand10percentare
adoptedatageone,andtherearelargenumbersofchildrenadoptedatallages.
Morethan50percentofchildrenareadoptedatagesixorabove.Insummary,
Figures2to4showstarkdifferencesbetweentheagecharacteristicsofchildren
adoptedbyU.S.bornparentsandchildrenadoptedbyparentsbornabroadlivingin
theUnitedStates.Asaresult,inter‐countryadoption,itself,needstobeconsidered
separatelydependingonthebirthplaceandincentivesoftheparentswhoadopt.
IV.CountryPolicyandthesupplyofchildren—Countryofbirth
Thecharacteristicsofcohortsofadoptedchildrenpresentapictureof
geopoliticsandcountrydisaster.LargescaleadoptionbeganafterWWIIas
AmericansadoptedchildrenfromwartornEuropeandJapan,andKoreanadoption
followedtheKoreanWar.Thenewestwaveofinter‐countryadoption,however,
whilearelativelysmallcomponentofoverallimmigration,issignificantbecause
countryspecificpoliciescanhavesuchalargeimpactonthesourcecountriesof
adoptedorphans.Theseadoptedbabiesandyoungchildrencomeinwavesfrom
specificcountriesinresponsetoeventsorpolicychangesinthosecountries.Figure
5AshowstheStateDepartment’svisaentrantsforallyearsbetween1989and
2008.2Figure5Bshowsforeignbornadoptedchildreninthe2000Censuswho
arrivedintheUnitedStatesbetween1984and1999.
2 The ten countries that accounted for the largest number of adopted orphan visas during the census period (1989-1999) are individually documented in Figure 5A. This is not the same set of countries that accounted
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Often,singulareventsorpolicieschangethecharacterofinter‐country
adoption.Asnoted,KoreahasbeenasourceofadoptedorphanssincetheKorean
War.Koreawasstillresponsiblefor44percentofallforeign‐bornadopteesin
1989.Thatyear,theKoreangovernment,respondingtodemocratizationand
negativepublicityaboutthelargenumbersofchildrenadoptedandsentabroad,
vowedtoreduce,andeventuallyeliminate,adoptionsofKoreansbypeoplefrom
othercountries.Thispolicywasnotcompletelysuccessful,butasFigure5Ashows,
adoptionsfromKoreawentfrom44percentofalladoptionsto12percentofall
adoptionsinjusttenyears.Overthetwenty‐yearperiod,asthenumberofadoptions
fromallcountriesincreased,boththepercentageandthenumberofadoptionsfrom
Koreadecreased.Lessthanone‐thirdasmanychildrenwereadoptedfromKoreain
2008thantwentyyearsbeforeeventhoughoveralladoptionmorethandoubled.
Similarly,theoverthrowofNicolaeCeausescuofRomaniain1991wasaccompanied
bypublicityabout“thousandsofchildren”inunderstaffedorphanagesbecauseof
populationexpansionpolicy.3U.S.adoptionsfromRomania,numberingonlya
coupleofhundredbefore1991,roseto2,594during1991,makingRomanians31
percentofforeign‐bornadoptedorphansin1991.Immediately,criesofwidespread
corruptionandthediscoveryofproblemsamongRomanianchildrenwhowere
adoptedledtoatemporarymoratoriumoninter‐countryadoptionsfromRomania
attheendof1991.Asaresult,almostnoRomanianchildrenwereadoptedin1992
or1993.Attemptstopromotebothinter‐countryadoptionandlocalsocialservices
for the largest number of visas during the entire period up to 2008 as country policy increased or decreased the number of children available to be adopted by parents in the United States. 3 http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/FactOverview/international.html
11
ledtoincreasesinadoptionfromRomaniauntilaharshermoratoriumwasput
throughafterthe2000censusandadoptionsfromRomaniawerevirtuallyhalted.
Romanianadoptionwasreplacedbyadoptionfromothercountries.Although
therewasalmostnoadoptionfromRussiaortheSovietsatellitesbefore1992,the
break‐upoftheSovietUnionwasresponsibleforatidalwaveofadoptionfromthe
formersatellitesandRussia,itself.Asorphanagesfilledtocapacity,Russiaopened
itsdoorstointernationaladoption.SodidKazackstan,Ukraine,andBulgariaand
othersovietsatellites.AllshowagrowingstreamofchildrenadoptedintheUnited
States.Bythelate1990s,overone‐thirdofallforeign‐bornadoptedorphanscome
fromtheformerSovietUnion.
Expansionarypolicywithincountrieswasahaphazardprocess,probably
respondingtotheemergenceofnascentadoptionnetworksandlocalstateneeds
andissues.TherewasessentiallynoadoptionfrommainlandChinauntil1992,
whentheChinesegovernmentpassedTheAdoptionLawofthePeople’sRepublicof
Chinathatallowedinternationaladoptions.Chinahadanabundanceofadoptable
girls,probablyasaresultoftheone‐childpolicyandfamilieswithinChinapreferred
boysandsotherewaslittleadoptiondemandforgirls.AdoptionfromChinajumped
from0.7percentofthetotalin1991to29.4percentin1996andChinaremainsthe
largestcountrygroupingofforeign‐bornadoptions.Guatemalaisoneofthefew
countriesthatallowssingleparentstoadoptandadoptionfromGuatemalagrew
throughouttheperiod.AlthoughGuatemalawasarelativelylowpercentageofvisas
beforethe2000census,Guatemalanorphansplayamuchlargerroleafterthe
census.
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Importantly,Figure5A,fromStateDepartmentVisas,andFigure5B,fromthe
U.S.Census,showssimilarlyhighpercentagesofchildrencomingfromthreemajor
sourcecountries:Korea,ChinaandRussia.Thereisasignificantlyhigherpercentage
ofKoreanchildreninthecensusdata.Thesefiguresdodifferespecially,however,in
thenumberofadoptedchildrenfromthreecountriesthataretraditionallabor
exportingeconomiestotheUnitedStates:Mexico,Guatemala,andthePhilippines.
Wenowknowthatthebirthplaceoftheparentsmattersforthebirthcountry
oftheadoptedchildaswell.Tofurtherexplorethesedifferences,Figure5Cand
Figure5Ddividethesampleagainbynativityoftheparents,whereFigure5C
documentshouseholdswithbothparentsU.S.bornandFigure5Ddocumentsthose
childrenadoptedbyforeign‐bornparents.WhenbothparentsareU.S.born,the
sourcecountrydistributionfollowsthehistoryofinter‐countryadoptionand
countrysupply.Thisfigureclearlyidentifiesothercountries’policies.Betweentwo‐
thirdsand89percentofchildrenarefromthetoptensendingcountriesandmostof
theadoptionscomefromKorea,China,andRussia.Butwhenparentsareforeign‐
born,thesourcecountrydistributionappearsmorelikethesourcecountry
distributionforimmigrantstotheUnitedStates.ThecountrieshighlightedinFigure
5DaredifferentfromFigure5C;whileMexico,thePhilippines,ElSalvadorand
DominicanRepublicarebarelyfeaturedinFigure5C,thesecountriesarefeatured
predominantlyinFigure5D.
AsaresultofthedifferentincentivesforU.S.bornandforeign‐bornparents
andthewaysthatchildrentheyadoptmaygainentrytotheUnitedStates,visa
statisticsfromtheStateDepartmentmayunderestimatethenumberofforeign‐born
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adoptedchildrenenteringthecountryeachyear.Whiletheremayberecallerrorin
thecensusabouttheexacttimingofadoptionandimmigrationtotheUnitedStates,
thesecensusdatarepresentthebestestimatesofadoptiontrends.InFigure6,we
comparetheadoptedforeign‐bornorphanvisasforeachyearwiththenumberof
adoptionsreportedtohaveimmigratedeachyearbyfamiliesreportinginthe2000
census.Eventhoughthecensusnumbersareunderestimatesbecauseofagingout,
therearemany,manymoreadoptionsinthecensusthaninthevisafigures.
Althoughthetwoseriesstartoutsimilarly(thevisastatisticsareonlyavailablefrom
1989)thereisadivergenceintheearly1990sthatgrowssubstantiallyuntilthere
arethousandsmorechildrenimmigratingineachyearaccordingtothecensusdata
thanthevisadata.Giventhatthesearenotforeign‐bornchildrenwhoimmigrated
withtheiradoptiveparentsandthatthecensusdataareunderestimates,evenin
theseyearsclosetothecensus,thelargedifferencesinthesenumbersindicatethat
westilldonothavegoodestimatesofthenumberofforeign‐bornadoptedchildren
whoimmigrateeachyear.
V.Parents’CharacteristicsandtheCharacteristicsofAdoptedChildren
Nextweexplorehowthecharacteristicsoftheadoptingparentscorrelateto
theagewhenthechildwasadopted.Table1presentsthedemographic
characteristicsofadoptingparents.Wedividethedataintothethreedifferent
categoriesreflectedinFigure1toFigure4.Thefirstcolumnpresentssamplemeans
forparentswhowerebornintheU.S.,thesecondcolumnpresentsthesample
meansofparentsinhouseholdswhereatleastoneparentwasbornabroadandwho
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adoptedintheirbirthcountry,andthethirdcolumnpresentsthesamplemeansof
parentsbornabroad(atleastone)andwhoadoptedfromadifferentcountrythan
theirbirthcountry.
Thefirstrowpresentstheestimatedageofthemotherandfatherwhenthe
childwasadopted.Thereareonlysmalldifferencesintheestimatedagecategories:
asforeign‐bornparentsadoptinginadifferentcountrytotheirplaceofbirthare,on
average,theeldestatthetimeofadoption.Theyarefollowedbyparentsborninthe
U.S.,andtrailedbyparentsbornabroadwhoadoptchildrenintheirbirthcountry.
Thesecondandthirdrowspresenttheproportionofmothersandfathers
respectivelywhograduatedfromcollege.Foreign‐bornparentswhoadoptintheir
countryofbirthplacearehalfaslikelytograduatefromcollegethanotherparents
adoptingabroad.Morethanone‐halfofthemothersandfatherswhoareU.S.born
orwhodonotadoptfromtheircountryoforiginarecollegegraduates.
Table1alsoincludessomelabormarketinformationofadoptingparents.
Thefourthrowdocumentsthehousehold’s1999annualincome;againforeign‐born
parentswhoadoptintheirowncountryearnlessthan65percentofwhatother
adoptingparentsearn.Sinceadoptionsoccurredatdifferenttimes,andweonlysee
earningsoutcomesin1999,thisincomedoesnotrepresentagoodcomparisonof
incomedifferencesifforeign‐bornparentsadoptedchildrenatadifferenttimeorat
adifferentagethanUSbornparents.Tohelpassessincomedifferences,the
estimatesinthefifthrowcontrolforagedifferencesbyshowingtheestimateofthe
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householdearning’spercentilewithin7agegroups4,thisisanumberbetween0
(lowestearners)and100(highestearners)andrepresentsthehouseholdposition
intheincomedistributionofthehead’sagegroup.Again,theaverageforeignborn
parents’earningsadoptingintheirhomecountryfallinthe55thpercentile,while
theaverageforeignbornparentsearningsadoptinginadifferentcountryareatthe
70percentile.TheaverageU.S.bornparents’earningsareinthe73rdpercentile.
Parentswhoadoptchildrenfromtheirhomecountryearnlessthanotherparents
whoadoptfromabroad.
Table1alsoincludesinformationonfamilycomposition.Thesixthand
seventhrowsdocumenttheproportionofadoptinghouseholdswithasingleparent
(theseincludedivorcedandseparatedparents).Therearenotmanysignificant
differencesacrossparentgroups:typicallyaboutoneinsixadoptingfamilies
consistsofasingleparent.Finally,foreign‐bornparentsaremorelikelythanU.S.
bornparentstohavetheirownbiologicalchildrenatthetimeofadoption,About20
percentofthoseadoptingfromtheirhomecountryand19percentofthoseadopting
fromadifferentcountryhavetheirownbiologicalchildreninthehousehold.Only
16percentofU.S.bornparentsdo.Butlookingatallchildreninthehousehold
reversesthatcomparison.U.S.bornparentsandforeign‐bornparentswhoadopt
fromadifferentcountryaremorelikelytohavechildreninthehouseholdthan
foreignbornparentswhoadoptfromthehomecountry.
4Theagegroupsforadoptingparentsare:lessthan25,25‐29,30‐34,35‐39,40‐44,45‐49and49+.Theresultsaresimilarifinsteadweuseearningsadjustedforagewhenthechildwasadopted.
16
Table2documentsthecharacteristicsofallforeign‐bornadoptedchildren
usingthesamecolumngroupsasinTable1.Thefirstrowpresentstheaverage
child’sagewhenadopted.ChildrenadoptedbyU.S.bornparents,areadoptedon
averageatagethree.Childrenadoptedbyparentswhowereborninthesame
countryareadoptedonaverageat6.5yearsofage.Childrenadoptedbyforeign‐
bornparentsadoptedinadifferentcountrythantheparents’birthplaceareadopted
onaverageat3.7yearsofage.Therearealsodifferencesonthegenderofthe
adoptedchild;parentsthatadoptfromtheirhomecountryareslightlylesslikelyto
adoptgirlsthanallotherparents.Foreign‐bornparentwhoadoptfromtheirhome
countryaremuchmorelikelytoadoptachildwithHispanicethnicity:almostone
halfofthoseparentsadoptaHispanicchild.Incontrast,only20percentofother
parentsadoptanHispanicchild.Similarly,parentsadoptingintheirbirthcountry
aremuchmorelikelytoadoptachildwhoisblack.Whiletherearemany
characteristicsofadoptiveparentsthataresimilar,thesamplemeansabove
highlightthattheycomefromdifferentincomeandeducationalexperiencesand
theyadoptchildrenwithdifferentcharacteristics.
Asweargueinthispaper,animportantcharacteristicofadoptedchildren,
andanimportantdifferenceoftheadoptionforparentswhoarebornintheUnited
Statesorabroadistheageofthechildwhenheorsheisadopted.What
demographiccharacteristicsdeterminetheageatwhichachildisadopted?While
wecannotspeaktooverallsupplyofchildrenlookingtobeadoptedbyage,wecan
lookattheageofadoptedchildrenandthewaythatparents’characteristics
correlatetotheageofadoption.Tounderstandhowparents’characteristics
17
correlatewiththeagewhenthechildwasadoptedweestimatethefollowinglinear
regressionmodel:
€
Ait = θ1Xit ×USit + θ2Xit × SCit + θ3Xit ×DCit + C'β +Y 'γ + εit (1)
whereAistheestimatedageofadoptionforthechild,Xitisavectorofparents
demographiccharacteristicsandincludesthemother’sagewhenadopted,whether
themotherisacollegegraduate,whetherthemotherisasingleparent,theage
adjustedhouseholdincomepercentileandwhetherotherchildrenwerepresentin
thehouseholdatthetimeoftheadoption5.Thesecharacteristicsareinteractedwith
threedifferentindicatorvariables:USit,SCitandDCitwhichstandforU.S.born
parents,forforeignbornparentsadoptinginthesamecountryastheywereborn,
andforforeignbornparentsadoptinginadifferentcountryrespectively.θ1,θ2and
θ3arevectorsofparametersassociatedwitheachinteractiontermbetweenthe
parents’characteristicsandtheparents’birthplace.ThevectorCcontainsfixed
effectsforKorea,China,Russia,Mexico,India,Colombia,Guatemala,Romaniaand
Philippines,andthevectorYrepresentsyearfixedeffects(neitherofwhichis
interactedwithparentcharacteristics).Whenestimatingthisregressionweonly
includeobservationsofchildrenadoptedin1990orlater,aspotentiallysomeofthe
childrenadoptedbeforearealreadyoutofthehouseholdbytheyear2000;the
resultsarerobusttowhetherweincludechildrenadoptedbefore1990ornot.
Theestimatesforthecoefficientsinequation1arepresentedinTable3.
Recallthatinthisequationeachparentcharacteristicisinteractedwiththe
dummiesUS,SCandDC.Thefirstcolumnpresentstheestimatesofthecoefficients
5Forhouseholdswithoutmothers,theinformationforthefatherisused.
18
fortheinteractionsbetweeneachcharacteristicandUS.Thesecondcolumn
presentstheestimatesofthecoefficientsfortheinteractionswithSC,andfinallythe
thirdcolumnpresentstheestimatesfortheinteractionswithDC.Thebottompanel
presentstheestimatesforeachcountryfixedeffect6.TheomittedcategoryisallU.S.
bornparentsadoptingabroad,henceallestimatesarerelativetothisgroup.The
estimatesinthefirstrowconfirmtheresultsfromFigures1‐4,thatis,controlling
formother’sdemographiccharacteristicsforeign‐bornparentsadoptchildrenwho
areoldenthanchildrenadoptedbyU.S.bornparents.Whentheparentsadoptin
theirhomecountry,childrenareconditionalonotherdemographiccharacteristics,
almost8yearsolderattheageofadoptionthanchildrenadoptedbyU.S.born
parents–recallthatthesampleincludesonlychildrenwhomigratedatadifferent
timethaneitherparent.ConditionalonotherdemographiccharacteristicsWhen
foreign‐bornparentsadoptinadifferentcountry,theirchildrenareonaverage,
almost4yearsolderatageofadoptionthanchildrenadoptedbyU.S.bornparents.
Oldermotherstendtoadoptolderchildren,yettherelationshipbetweenthe
ageofthemotherandtheageofthechildisalmostthreetimesstrongerformothers
whoareU.S.bornthanforforeign‐bornmotherswhoadoptintheirbirthcountry.
Thatis,thelinkbetweenmother’sageandchild’sage,whilesignificantforforeign‐
bornparents,isquitesmallforthosewhoadoptfromtheirbirthcountry.Education
isinverselyrelatedtochild’sage:thatismotherswithacollegedegreearemore
likelytoadoptyoungerchildren.Therelationshipbetweenmother’seducationand
child’sageatadoptionisstrongestfortheforeign‐bornwhoadoptintheirbirth6Weomittheestimatesforyearfixedeffects,theseareavailablefromtheauthorsuponrequest.
19
country.Finally,familycompositionseemstohavenorelationshiptochild’sage.
Thereisnostatisticallysignificantassociationbetweenthemother’smarriedstatus
andthechildren’sagewhenadopted;similarly,household’sincomeisonly
negativelyassociatedwithchildren’sageatadoptioninthecaseofforeignborn
parentsnotadoptingintheircountryofbirth.Finally,ifotherchildrenarepresent
inthehousehold,youngerchildrentendtobeadopted.Thiscorrelationisstrongfor
allthreeparentalinteractions.Notethatthecountries’fixedeffectsreflectthe
estimatesinFigure5A‐D,wherechildrenadoptedfromChina,Korea,Russia,India
andGuatemalatendtobeyoungerwhenadopted,whilechildrenadoptedfrom
MexicoandthePhilippinestendtobeelder.
TheestimatesinTable3implicitlyassumethattheassociationbetween
parentcharacteristicsXandthechild’sageofadoptionisconstantacrossallage
groups.Thereisnoreasontothinkthisisavalidassumption,ifparentshavea
strongpreferenceforinfantchildren.Asanalternative,weestimatethefollowing
logitregression
€
Iit = θ1Xit ×USit + θ2Xit × SCit + θ3Xit ×DCit + C'β +Y 'γ + εit (2)
whereIitisavariableindicatingtheprobabilitythatachildisnotaninfant,defined
inthiscaseasachildwhoisthreeorolder,attheageofadoption.Iitisnotobserved,
insteadweuseI’itwhichtakesavalueofoneifthechildwasadoptedafterherthird
birthday,zerootherwise.Estimatesforequation(2)arepresentedinTable4.
TheestimatessuggestastorythatissimilartotheonerevealedinTable3
withtwoimportantexceptions,childrenadoptedbysingleparentsfromthesame
countryofbirthare20percentagepointsmorelikelytobethreeyearsofageor
20
older.Inaddition,thehousehold’sageadjustedincomeisnegativelyassociatedwith
theprobabilityofadoptingachildagethreeorolder.This,togetherwiththe
negativeestimatesforthecoefficientofmotherhavingacollegedegree,is
suggestivethatfamilieswithmoreresourcesanddesirablecharacteristicsaremore
likelytoadoptinfants,consistentwiththefamilyformationhypothesis.Inaddition,
oncethatwecontrolforthesecharacteristics,childrenadoptedbyparentsbornin
thesamecountryare70percentagepointsmorelikelytobethreeorolder,children
adoptedbyforeignbornparentsinadifferentcountryare52percentagepoints
morelikelytobethreeorolder.Insummary,notonlydodifferencesintheageof
adoptionpersistonceonecontrolsforparentscharacteristicsandcountryofbirth,
butactuallythesedifferencesmagnifywhenwecompareveryyoungchildrentoall
others,againsuggestingthatparentsbornintheUnitedStatesandforeign‐born
parentsadoptverydifferentchildren.Thisisespeciallysowhentheparent’sadopt
childrenintheirbirthcountry.
VI.Summary
Theadoptionofforeign‐bornchildrenbyparentslivingintheUnitedStateshas
morethantripledduringthelastthirtyyears,andwarrantsattentionfromsocial
scientists.Inthispaperwehighlighttheimportanceofunderstandingboth:1)
economicandpolicychangesinsendingcountries;and2)theincentivesthat
differentparentsmayhavewhenadoptingachild.Ouranalysisconsidersany
differencesintheadoptionprocessofchildrenabroadbyU.S.andforeign‐born
parents.Theestimatespresentedinhere,whileonlypreliminary,showthatthe
21
characteristicsofthechildrendifferaccordingtothenationalityoftheparent:while
U.S.bornparentstendtoadoptbabiesmostlyfromKorea,ChinaandRussia;
foreign‐bornparentstendtoadoptchildrenofallagesfromtheircountryoforigin.
Thissuggeststhattheincentivesandreasonstoadoptmayverywelldifferacross
parentsinwaysthatwedonotyetunderstand.
22
References
ChildWelfareLeagueofAmerica.1999.AdoptionFacts(accessed02.15.2009athttp://www.cwla.org/programs/adoption/adoptionfactsheet.htm
Bachrach,ChristineA.(1983)AdoptionasaMeanstofamilyFormation:Datafrom
theNationalSurveyoffamilyGrowth.TheJournalofMarriageandFamilyVol45(4)Nov1983pp.859‐865.
Brooks,Devon,SigridJamesandRichardP.Barth(2002)PreferredCharacteristics
ofChildrenintheNeedofAdoption:IsthereaDemandforAvailableFosterChildren?TheSocialServiceReviewVol76(4)Dec2002pp.575‐602.
Kossoudji,SherrrieA.2008.NewChildrentotheUnitedStates:ForeignBorn
AdoptionsintheNewImmigrantSurvey.Mimeo.Kreider,RoseM.2003.AdoptedChildrenandStepChildren:2000.Census2000
SpecialReports.Plug,Erik(2004)EstimatingtheEffectofMother’sSchoolingonChildren’s
SchoolingUsingaSampleofAdoptees.AmericanEconomicReviewVol94(1)March2004pp.358‐368.
Sacerdote,Bruce(2007)HowLargearetheEffectsfromChangesinfamily
Environment?AStudyofKoreanAmericanAdoptees.QuarterlyJournalofEconomicsVol121(1)Feb2007pp.119‐158
U.S.HomelandSecurity.VariousYears.TheHandbookofImmigrationStatistics.
23
Figure1:
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Figure2:
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Figure3:
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Figure4:
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31
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Table1:FamilyCharacteristics(byParent’sBirthStatus) (1) (2) (3)
BothParentsU.S.Born
AtleastonParentForeignBorn
AdoptedfromSameCountry
AdoptedfromDifferentCountry
Father’sAgeAdoption 40.1 39.4 41.2
(0.018) (0.056) (0.062)Mother’sAgeAdoption 38.9 38.0 39.5
(0.016) (0.050) (0.055)ProportionCollege,Father 0.54 0.27 0.57
(0.001) (0.003) (0.004)ProportionCollege,Mother 0.58 0.25 0.52
(0.001) (0.003) (0.004)FamilyAnnualIncome $106,899 $68,231 $107,013 (236) (409) (808)AgeAdjustedIncomeDecile 7.1 5.6 6.9
(0.007) (0.018) (0.022)ProportionSingle,Mother 0.13 0.13 0.10
(0.001) (0.002) (0.002)ProportionSingle,Father 0.03 0.04 0.02
(0.000) (0.001) (0.001)ProportionwithBiologicalChildreninHH 0.15 0.20 0.19
(0.001) (0.002) (0.003)ProportionwithOtherChildreninHousehold 0.40 0.36 0.40
(0.001) (0.003) (0.004)N 6,770 1,263 711WeightedN 137,156 26,967 15,119Sample:Allchildrenunder18yearsofage,bornbefore2000inthe5%IPUMSCensus2000.Excludeschildrenwhomigratedatthesametimeoftheparent.
33
Table2.ChildCharacteristics(byParent’sBirthStatus) (1) (2) (3)
BothParentsU.S.Born
AtleastonParentForeignBorn
Same
CountryDifferentCountry
AgewhenAdopted 3.1 6.5 3.8
(0.009) (0.028) (0.028)ProportionFemale 0.61 0.55 0.60
(0.001) (0.003) (0.004)ProportionHispanic/Latino 0.19 0.48 0.21
(0.001) (0.003) (0.003)ProportionAsian 0.52 0.32 0.42
(0.001) (0.003) (0.004)ProportionBlack 0.03 0.09 0.06
(0.000) (0.002) (0.002)
N 6,770 1,263 711WeightedN 137,156 26,967 15,119Sample:Allchildrenunder18yearsofage,bornbefore2000inthe5%IPUMSCensus2000.Excludeschildrenwhomigratedatthesametimeoftheparent.
34
Table3.OLSRegressionDependentVariable:Child’sAgeWhenAdopted (1) (2) (3) ForeignBorn ForeignBorn U.S.Born Same
CountryDifferentCountry
GroupIntercept 7.816** 4.073** (0.973) (0.979)Mother,Age 0.192** 0.072** 0.130** (0.012) (0.018) (0.025)Mother,CollegeGrad ‐0.934** ‐1.855** ‐0.681** (0.141) (0.549) (0.351)SingleParent ‐0.048 0.501 0.299 (0.159) (0.465) (0.531)AgeAdjustedIncomeDecile 0.000 ‐0.006 ‐0.020** (0.003) (0.007) (0.006)OtherChildrenatAdoption ‐0.714** ‐0.909** ‐0.460** (0.101) (0.347) (0.205) Korea ‐0.095 (0.191) China ‐3.330** (0.170) Russia ‐1.443** (0.227) Mexico 0.582** (0.226) India ‐0.728* (0.388) Colombia 0.094 (0.201) Guatemala ‐1.586** (0.283) Romania ‐0.839** (0.224) Philippines 0.516* (0.313) R‐2 0.296 N 6,624 **Statisticallysignificantat5%*Statisticallysignificantat10%.AllregressionsincludeyearofimmigrationfixedeffectsSample:Allchildrenunder18yearsofage,bornbefore2000inthe5%IPUMSCensus2000.Excludeschildrenwhomigratedatthesametimeoftheparent.
35
Table4.LogitRegression,DependentVariable:ProbabilityChildisAdoptedatAgeThreeorOlder.Coefficientsrepresentmarginaleffects (1) (2) (3) Atleast1ParentForeignBorn USCitizen Same
CountryDifferentCountry
GroupIntercept 0.701** 0.525** (0.028) (0.049)MomAgeinUS 0.029** 0.005* 0.018** (0.002) (0.003) (0.004)MomCollegeGrad ‐0.119** ‐0.154** ‐0.092** (0.021) (0.054) (0.042)SingleParent ‐0.032 0.198** 0.084 (0.028) (0.073) (0.108)AgeAdjustedIncomeDecile ‐0.001* ‐0.001 ‐0.004** (0.000) (0.001) (0.001)OtherChildrenwhenAdoption ‐0.028* ‐0.086** ‐0.020 (0.015) (0.034) (0.036) Korea ‐0.093** (0.027) China ‐0.438** (0.017) Russia ‐0.121** (0.032) Mexico 0.066* (0.034) India ‐0.127** (0.053) Colombia ‐0.017 (0.034) Guatemala ‐0.241** (0.030) Romania ‐0.027 (0.047) Philippines 0.134** (0.048) PseudoR‐2 0.180 N 6,624 **Statisticallysignificantat5%*Statisticallysignificantat10%.Allregressionsincludeyearofimmigrationfixedeffects
36
Sample:Allchildrenunder18yearsofage,bornbefore2000inthe5%IPUMSCensus2000.Excludeschildrenwhomigratedatthesametimeoftheparent.