The Historical Origins of Son Preference: Patrilocality and Missing Women

AbstractWith the advent of modern technology for fetal sex determination, selective abortion is found to be responsible for a significant number of “missing women” in countries like China and India. Using a competing risk hazard model, we investigate whether son preference translates into selective abortion and accounts for any of the “missing women” in Bangladesh. Data suggest that son preference leads to shorter birth intervals if previous births are girls. For example, if the first birth is a girl, the odds of having another child each quarter is about 15% higher and the birth interval is about 2 months shorter for more educated urban women in recent years (1990–2011). However, there is no evidence that selective abortion contributes to missing women in Bangladesh.

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Sex ratios and ‘missing women’ among Asian minority and migrant populations in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A retrospective cohort analysis

10.1101/2021.03.11.21253424 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel Simon-Kumar ◽

Janine Paynter ◽

Annie Chiang ◽

Nimisha Chabba

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Sex Ratios ◽

Son Preference ◽

List Type ◽

Selective Abortion ◽

Chinese Families ◽

Chinese Populations ◽

Migrant Populations ◽

Sex Selective Abortion ◽

Missing Women

ABSTRACTBackgroundRecent research from the UK, USA, Australia, and Canada point to male-favouring Sex Ratios at Birth (SRB) among their Asian minority populations, attributed to son preference and sex-selective abortion within these cultural groups. The present study conducts a similar investigation of SRBs among New Zealand’s Asian minority and migrant populations, who comprise 15% of the population.MethodsThe New Zealand historical census series between 1976-2013 was used to examine SRBs between ages 0-5 by ethnicity. A retrospective birth cohort in New Zealand was created using the Stats NZ Integrated Data Infrastructure from 2003-2018. A logistic regression was conducted and adjusted for selected variables of interest including visa group, parity, maternal age and deprivation. Finally, associations between family size, ethnicity and family gender composition were examined in a subset of this cohort (families with 2 or 3 children).ResultsThere was no evidence of ‘missing women’ or gender bias as indicated by a deviation from the biological norm in New Zealand’s Asian population. However, Indian and Chinese families were significantly more likely to have a third child if their first two children were females compared to two male children.ConclusionThe analyses did not reveal male-favouring SRBs or any conclusive evidence of sex-selective abortion among Indian and Chinese populations. Based on this data, we conclude that in comparison to other western countries, New Zealand’s Asian migrant populations presents as an anomaly. The larger family sizes for Indian and Chinese populations where the first two children were girls suggested potentially ‘soft’ practices of son preference.WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT-There are discrepancies in Sex Ratios at Birth (SRB) among the Asian minority migrant populations – particularly Indian and Chinese populations –in countries like Canada, UK, USA. SRBs show a pronounced number of males over female children, suggesting a widespread practice of sex-selective abortions in these communities since the 1970s.-These trends implicitly reflect social norms of gender bias through son preference, and daughter devaluation.WHAT IS BEING ADDED-The present study did not find evidence of skewed SRBs that favour boys over girls among Asian ethnicities. The analyses however did find a tendency for Indian and Chinese families to have larger families especially when the first two children were girls.-Overall, the findings suggest the absence of widespread practices of sex-selective abortion making New Zealand an anomaly relative to other migrant-receiving countries. However, there are still vestiges of son preference that are seen through decisions around family size and gender composition.

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Can Hepatitis B Mothers Account for the Number of Missing Women? Evidence from Three Million Newborns in Taiwan

The American Economic Review ◽

10.1257/aer.98.5.2259 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 98 (5) ◽

pp. 2259-2273 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Ming-Jen Lin ◽

Ming-Ching Luoh

Keyword(s):

Hepatitis B Virus ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Sex Ratio ◽

Birth Order ◽

Son Preference ◽

Sex Ratio At Birth ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Male Birth ◽

B Virus ◽

Missing Women

The “missing women” phenomenon in many Asian countries has previously been regarded as the result of son preference. However, some studies have argued half of the missing women can be explained by infection with Hepatitis B virus (HBV). We demonstrate that the probability of having a male birth is only slightly higher for HBV mothers than for mothers without HBV. The sex ratio at birth rises for the higher birth order and that in families where the first two children are female. Our findings suggest that HBV status has little impact on the missing women phenomenon. (JEL I12, J16)

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