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Title: Attainment of Sex Preference in India
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2021
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Abstract: With roots dating back centuries, son preference has been present in India and continued to the current day with implications such as millions of girls missing from the population. The prevalence of son preference stems from patriarchal practices such as a patrilineal inheritance an aging parent's dependency on their sons. Daughters can be seen as a burden, for reasons such as the practice of dowry payments when women get married and some women not bringing an economic contribution to their family. This can differ by region, as in rural Northern areas, women do not participate in agricultural production, but in rural Southern areas where rice-growing is practiced, women's involvement is crucial. As India continues to grow in population, with predictions that it will be the most populous country by 2050, it is increasingly important to seek the end of son preference. Tools such as sex-selective abortions have grown in popularity in order to limit the number of daughters, and many daughters that are born into larger families get less resources than their brothers. There are many studies that look into son preference in India, often by analyzing parity progression, the likelihood that families will try for more children based on the sex composition of their existing children. This study is different than many of the other sex preference studies in India. Instead of looking at parities, this study compares a woman's expressed ideal sex ratio with the actual sex ratio of her children. By looking at attainment of sex preference, we can see what variables might influence hitting the ratio or not. One finding that might come from looking at this type of analysis, is seeing if higher levels of wealth are correlated with hitting the desired ratio, which could give hint to sex-selective abortions taking place.
Url: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/6fcdc8dcd95b4ca99b891427b9f38a8b
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Authors: Erdmann, Lara Rae
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Data Collections: IPUMS Global Health - DHS
Topics: Family and Marriage, Fertility and Mortality, Gender
Countries: India