Intercountry adoption: trends,issues and policy implications for the 1990s

Abstract

Intercountry adoption trends are analyzed from an historical perspective, in an effort to identify the main issues that have emerged since its appearance after World War 2. It is argued that during its first two decades of existence, intercountry adoption was mainly a response to the negative effects of war on families and children. Starting in the 1970s, the continuing expansion of this practice is best understood by making ref erence to a process of supply and demand that responds to certain structural features in both developed and developing countries. Using data from Sweden and the United States, recent intercountry adoption trends are analyzed in order to identify the vo lume, direction and origin of the migratory flows of children adopted in these coun tries during the past decade. Against this backdrop, and taking into account the prin ciples set forth by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the current status of in tercountry adoption is discussed, as well as policy implications for the future.