Volume 48 - Article 8 | Pages 203–232  

The sex preference for children in Europe: Children’s sex and the probability and timing of births

By Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, Magdalena Grabowska

Abstract

Background: The preference for having children of a particular sex may be reflected in fertility behavior. For example, parents who want to have a son may be more likely to have another child if their firstborn child is female or if they have two female children. They may also speed up the conception, resulting in a faster progression to the next child.

Objective: We examine whether there is a sex preference for children in Europe, which is reflected in an increased/decreased probability of having another child and a shorter/longer time to the next birth given the sex of existing children. We distinguish between progression to the second and the third child and different cohorts.

Methods: We model the impact of children’s sex on fertility using event history analysis. We apply mixture cure models, which allow us to distinguish between the probability of experiencing the event of interest and its timing.

Results: We find evidence of the preference for having a girl, reflected in an increased probability of not having a second child if the first child is female. We also find that women who have two children of the same sex are more likely to give birth to a third child.

Contribution: We contribute to research on the sex preference for children by (1) providing a comprehensive analysis of a number of European countries using consistent data and methodology, (2) examining the progression to the second and the third child, (3) distinguishing between different cohorts of women, and (4) applying mixture cure models.

Author's Affiliation

• Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska - Wydział Nauk Ekonomicznych Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Poland EMAIL
• Magdalena Grabowska - Wydział Nauk Ekonomicznych Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Poland EMAIL

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

Housework time and task segregation: Revisiting gender inequality among parents in 15 European countries
Volume 50 - Article 19    | Keywords: cross-national comparison, gender, housework

The big decline: Lowest-low fertility in Uruguay (2016–2021)
Volume 50 - Article 16    | Keywords: adolescent fertility, birth order, fertility, Latin America, ultra-low fertility, Uruguay

Losing the female survival advantage: Sex differentials in infant and child mortality in Pakistan
Volume 50 - Article 15    | Keywords: child mortality, family, gender discrimination, Pakistan, sex differentials, son preference, South Asia, survival analysis

Cohort fertility of immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union
Volume 50 - Article 13    | Keywords: age at first birth, assimilation, cohort analysis, fertility, immigration, parity, religiosity

Fertility decline, changes in age structure, and the potential for demographic dividends: A global analysis
Volume 50 - Article 9    | Keywords: age structure, demographic dividend, demographic transition, fertility, migration, population momentum, working-age population