Measures of son preference and the treatment of girls in India
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12194894 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Priti Kalsi (0000-0002-9913-7538, Rochester Institute of Technology, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-13 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Population Economics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0933-1433 • E-ISSN: 1432-1475 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s00148-025-01145-9 |
| OpenAlex | W7123363398 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 31 |
This paper examines how different measures of son preference—stated son preference, sex ratios at birth, and implied son preference—capture varying degrees of fertility control and gender discrimination. Using data from India, I show that states with high sex ratios at birth and implied son preference (i.e., continuing childbearing until a son is born) engage in sex selection, while states with high stated son preference do not. However, female infants in high stated son preference states experience higher infant mortality rates, a pattern not observed in states with high sex ratios or implied son preference. States with high sex ratios and high implied preference also had excess female mortality before the widespread use of ultrasound in India, suggesting that the rise in sex selection has contributed to closing these gaps. To formalize this relationship, I define the unwanted girls ratio as the difference between desired and actual sex ratios at birth, which increases with higher stated son preference but decreases with sex selection. States with higher unwanted girls ratios have greater levels of excess female mortality. The paper highlights that linking specific measures of son preference to sex selection helps explain why some measures correlate with gender health gaps while others do not
Family planning · Fertility · Infant mortality · Population · Preference · Sex characteristics · Sex ratio · Sex selection · Social value orientations · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Names, Identity, and Discrimination Research
The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime
Determinants of Stated Son Preference in India
The Roots of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries
Bootstrap-Based Improvements for Inference with Clustered Errors
The Effects of Unintended Pregnancy on Infant, Child, and Parental Health
Are simple tests of son preference useful? An evaluation using data from Vietnam
Unwanted daughters
Son preference and education Inequalities in India
The effect of fertility decisions on excess female mortality in India
Is son preference disappearing from Bangladesh
Does a legal ban on sex-selective abortions improve child sex ratios? Evidence from a policy change in India
Explaining son preference in rural India
Son Preference and the Demand for Additional Children in Pakistan
Son preference and sex composition of children
A formal theory for male-preferring stopping rules of childbearing
Pregnancy wantedness and the early initiation of prenatal care
The Power of the Pill
On the Interaction between the Quantity and Quality of Children
Prenatal Sex Selection and Girls’ Well-Being
On the Quantity and Quality of Girls
Variations in attitudinal gender preferences for children across 50 less-developed countries
On Substituting Sex Preference Strategies in East Asia
Sex-Selective Abortions in India
Abortion Legalization, Sex Selection, and Female University Enrollment in Taiwan
The Implementation of Preferences for Male Offspring
| Highly cited | No |
|---|