Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions

Schady, Norbert; Filmer, Deon; Friedman, Jed

Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions

Autores

Schady, Norbert

Filmer, Deon

Friedman, Jed

Editor

World Bank, Washington, DC

Descripción

A family preference for sons over daughters may manifest itself in different ways, including higher mortality, worse health status, or lower educational attainment among girls. This study focuses on one measure of son preference in the developing world, namely the likelihood of continued childbearing given the gender composition of existing children in the family. The authors use an unusually large data set, covering 65 countries and approximately 5 million births. The analysis shows that son preference is apparent in many regions of the developing world and is particularly large in South Asia and in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. Modernization does not appear to reduce son preference. For example, in South Asia son preference is larger for women with more education and is increasing over time. The explanation for these patterns appears to be that latent son preference in childbearing is more likely to manifest itself when fertility levels are low. As a result of son preference, girls tend to grow up with significantly more siblings than boys do, which may have implications for their wellbeing if there are quantity-quality trade-offs that result in fewer material and emotional resources allocated to children in larger families.

Palabras clave

ADOLESCENCE, BIRTH COHORT, BIRTH ORDER, BIRTH SPACING, BULLETIN, CHILD HEALTH, CHILD MORTALITY, CHILD NUTRITION, CHILDBEARING, CHINESE POPULATION, CONSEQUENCES OF FERTILITY, CONTRACEPTIVE USE, CULTURAL CHANGE, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT OF BOYS, DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN, ECONOMIC CHANGE, ECONOMIC RESOURCES, EDUCATED MOTHERS, EDUCATED WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EDUCATIONAL INVESTMENT, ENROLLMENT, EQUAL TREATMENT, EXCESS MORTALITY, FAMILY BACKGROUND, FAMILY COMPOSITION, FAMILY PREFERENCE, FAMILY SIZE, FAMILY SIZES, FEMALE, FEMALE CHILDREN, FEMALE EDUCATION, FERTILITY, FERTILITY BEHAVIOR, FERTILITY DECLINE, FERTILITY LEVELS, FERTILITY PREFERENCES, FERTILITY RATES, GENDER, GENDER BALANCE, GENDER COMPOSITION, GENDER DIFFERENCES, GENDER DISCRIMINATION, GENDER EQUALITY, GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS, GENDER PREFERENCE, GENDER PREFERENCES, GENDERS, HEALTH CARE, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES, IMMUNIZATION, INEQUALITY, INHERITANCE, INSURANCE, INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING, INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING PERSPECTIVES, JUSTICE, LABOR FORCE, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LARGER FAMILIES, LEVELS OF EDUCATION, LIFETIME FERTILITY, LIVING STANDARDS, MODERNIZATION, MORTALITY, MORTALITY DIFFERENTIALS, MOTHER, NUMBER OF BIRTHS, NUMBER OF CHILDREN, NUMBER OF GIRLS, NUMBER OF WOMEN, NUTRITION, NUTRITIONAL STATUS, OLD-AGE, PARITY, PLACE OF RESIDENCE, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POORER WOMEN, POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT, POPULATION ESTIMATES, POPULATION STUDIES, PREFERENCE FOR SONS, PREGNANCY, PREGNANCY STATUS, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PROGRESS, PUBLIC POLICY, PUBLIC SERVICES, READING, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, RURAL AREAS, RURAL COMMUNITIES, SCHOOLING, SECOND BIRTHS, SEX, SEX BIAS, SEX PREFERENCE, SEX PREFERENCES, SEX RATIO, SEX RATIOS, SON PREFERENCE, SOUTH ASIAN, SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, URBAN AREAS, URBANIZATION, WILL, WOMAN