On the Quantity and Quality of Girls

Fertility, Parental Investments and Mortality

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9706628
AutoresS Anukriti (The World Bank, USA, autor de correspondencia), Sonia Bhalotra (0000-0001-8634-8822, University of Essex), Eddy H F Tam (0000-0001-7882-768X, University of Oxford)
Año2022
Volumen132
Número641
Páginas1-36
Fecha de publicación2022-01-07
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Economic Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ej/ueab035
OpenAlexW3169860430
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas22
Referencias citadas69

Access to prenatal sex-detection technology in India has led to a phenomenal increase in abortion of girls. We find that it has also narrowed the gender gap in under-five mortality, consistent with surviving girls being more wanted than aborted girls. For every three aborted girls, one additional girl survived to age five. Mechanisms include moderation of son-biased fertility stopping and narrowing of gender gaps in parental investments. However, surviving girls are more likely to be born in lower-status families. Our findings have implications not only for counts of missing girls but also for the later life outcomes of girls

Abortion · Biology · Demographic economics · Developmental psychology · Economics · Fertility · Gender gap · Girl · Moderation · Population · Pregnancy · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Global Maternal and Child Health · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Social Psychology