Volume 19 - Article 54 | Pages 1831–1850
How can economic schemes curtail the increasing sex ratio at birth in China?
Date received: | 30 Jul 2007 |
Date published: | 14 Oct 2008 |
Word count: | 5505 |
Keywords: | sex ratio at birth, sex selection, sex-selective potency, son preference, value of child |
DOI: | 10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.54 |
Abstract
Fertility decline, driven by the one-child policy, and son preference have contributed to an alarming difference in the number of live male and female births in China. We present a quantitative model where people choose to sex-select because they perceive that married sons are more valuable than married daughters. Due to the predominant patrilocal kinship system in China, daughters-in-law provide valuable emotional and financial support, enhancing the perceived present value of married sons. We argue that inter-generational transfer data will help ascertain the extent to which economic schemes (such as pension plans for families with no sons) can curtail the increasing sex ratio at birth.
Author's Affiliation
Debarun Bhattacharjya - Stanford University, United States of America
Anant Sudarshan - Stanford University, United States of America
Shripad Tuljapurkar - Stanford University, United States of America
Ross Shachter - Stanford University, United States of America
Marcus Feldman - Stanford University, United States of America
Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research
»
Convergence in male and female life expectancy: Direction, age pattern, and causes
Volume 34 - Article 38
»
Variance in death and its implications for modeling and forecasting mortality
Volume 24 - Article 21
Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research
»
Population aging caused by a rise in the sex ratio at birth
Volume 43 - Article 32 | Keywords: sex ratio at birth
»
Gender preferences and fertility: Investigating the case of Turkish immigrants in Germany
Volume 43 - Article 3 | Keywords: son preference
»
Still under the ancestors' shadow? Ancestor worship and family formation in contemporary China
Volume 38 - Article 1 | Keywords: son preference
»
The relationship between women's paid employment and women's stated son preference in India
Volume 36 - Article 52 | Keywords: son preference
»
Could changes in reported sex ratios at birth during China's 1958-1961 famine support the adaptive sex ratio adjustment hypothesis?
Volume 29 - Article 33 | Keywords: sex ratio at birth
Articles
Citations
Cited References: 21
»View the references of this article
Download to Citation Manager
Similar Articles
PubMed
»Articles by Debarun Bhattacharjya
»Articles by Shripad Tuljapurkar
Google Scholar
»Articles by Debarun Bhattacharjya
»Articles by Shripad Tuljapurkar