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Son Preference, Sex Selection and Economic Development: Theory and Evidence from South Korea

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  • Lena Edlund

    () (Columbia University - Department of Economics)

  • Chulhee Lee

    () (Seoul National University - Department of Economics)

Abstract

Motivated by high and rising sex ratios in countries such as India and China, we formulate a theoretical framework for analyzing the impact of economic development on parental sex choice when sons are culturally prized and children provide old age support. Two key assumptions drive our model. First, the cultural valuation of children vary not only with gender but also with marital status. In particular, while a married son is preferred to a married daughter, the latter is preferred to an unmarried son. Second, we assume that faced with a shortage of brides, poor parents will have a harder time marrying their sons than rich parents. Our model predicts male sex ratios at low levels of development, where the surplus sons are chosen by the poorest who forego grand-children for old age support. With development, incomes and the bride price rise, allowing the poorest reproductive children. Consequently, sex ratios fall, and the relationship between parental income and offspring maleness turns positive. We also present corroborative evidence from South Korea, a now developed country which shares with India and China a strong patriarchal culture and a recent past of poverty.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Columbia University, Department of Economics in its series Discussion Papers with number 0910-04.

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Date of creation: 2009
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Handle: RePEc:clu:wpaper:0910-04

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  1. Lena Edlund, 1999. "Son Preference, Sex Rations, and Marriage Patterns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(6), pages 1275-1304, December.
  2. Sylvie Dubuc & David Coleman, 2007. "An Increase in the Sex Ratio of Births to India-born Mothers in England and Wales: Evidence for Sex-Selective Abortion," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 33(2), pages 383-400.
  3. Jason Abrevaya, 2009. "Are There Missing Girls in the United States? Evidence from Birth Data," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 1-34, April.
  4. Jinyoung Kim, 2005. "Sex selection and fertility in a dynamic model of conception and abortion," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 41-67, 01.
  5. Lena Edlund & Evelyn Korn, 2002. "A Theory of Prostitution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(1), pages 181-214, February.
  6. Lena Edlund, 2005. "Sex and the City," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 107(1), pages 25-44, 03.
  7. Douglas Almond & Lena Edlund & Kevin Milligan, 2009. "O Sister, Where Art Thou? The Role of Son Preference and Sex Choice: Evidence from Immigrants to Canada," NBER Working Papers 15391, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  8. Woojin Chung & Monica Das Gupta, 2007. "The Decline of Son Preference in South Korea: The Roles of Development and Public Policy," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 33(4), pages 757-783.
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Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Sex choice and poverty
    by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2009-12-24 15:08:00
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Cited by:
  1. Magnus Hatlebakk, 2012. "Son-preference, number of children, education and occupational choice in rural Nepal," CMI Working Papers 8, CMI (Chr. Michelsen Institute), Bergen, Norway.
  2. Douglas Almond & Lena Edlund & Kevin Milligan, 2009. "O Sister, Where Art Thou? The Role of Son Preference and Sex Choice: Evidence from Immigrants to Canada," NBER Working Papers 15391, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  3. Doepke, Matthias & Tertilt, Michèle & Voena, Alessandra, 2011. "The Economics and Politics of Women’s Rights," Working Papers 11-3, University of Mannheim, Department of Economics.
  4. Esther Duflo, 2011. "Women’s Empowerment and Economic Development," NBER Working Papers 17702, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  5. Shang-Jin Wei & Xiaobo Zhang, 2011. "Sex Ratios, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Growth in the People’s Republic of China," NBER Working Papers 16800, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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