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Evidence of Self-correction of Child Sex Ratios in India: A District-Level Analysis of Child Sex Ratios From 1981 to 2011

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  • Nadia Diamond-Smith

  • David Bishai

Abstract

Sex ratios in India have become increasingly imbalanced over the past decades. We hypothesize that when sex ratios become very uneven, the shortage of girls will increase girls’ future value, leading sex ratios to self-correct. Using data on children under 5 from the last four Indian censuses, we examine the relationship between the sex ratio at one point in time and the change in sex ratio over the next 10 years by district. Fixed-effects models show that when accounting for unobserved district-level characteristics—including total fertility rate, infant mortality rate, percentage literate, percentage rural, percentage scheduled caste, percentage scheduled tribe, and a time trend variable—sex ratios are significantly negatively correlated with the change in sex ratio in the successive 10-year period. This suggests that self-corrective forces are at work on imbalanced sex ratios in India. Copyright Population Association of America 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Nadia Diamond-Smith & David Bishai, 2015. "Evidence of Self-correction of Child Sex Ratios in India: A District-Level Analysis of Child Sex Ratios From 1981 to 2011," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 641-666, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:52:y:2015:i:2:p:641-666
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-014-0356-z
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    3. Aditi Dimri & Véronique Gille & Philipp Ketz, 2024. "Measuring sex-selective abortion: How many women abort?," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-04671748, HAL.
    4. Echávarri, Rebeca & Husillos, Javier, 2016. "The Missing Link Between Parents’ Preferences and Daughters’ Survival: The Moderator Effect of Societal Discrimination," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 372-385.
    5. Aradhana Kumari & Srinivas Goli, 2022. "Skewed child sex ratios in India: a revisit to geographical patterns and socio-economic correlates," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 45-72, March.
    6. Dimri, Aditi & Gille, Véronique & Ketz, Philipp, 2024. "Measuring sex-selective abortion: How many women abort?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    7. Aditi Dimri & Véronique Gille & Philipp Ketz, 2024. "Measuring sex-selective abortion: How many women abort?," Post-Print hal-04671748, HAL.
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    9. Duan, Huiqiong & Yuan, Weici & Snyder, Thomas, 2025. "Gender imbalance and temporary migration: Evidence from rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
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    11. Ashish Kumar Upadhyay & Abhishek Singh & Ashish Singh & Fiifi Amoako Johnson & Kaushalendra Kumar & Nikos Tzavidis & Sabu Padmadas, 2025. "Mapping son preference in India, 2002–2021: Spatial patterns and trends using model-based small area estimation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 53(28), pages 915-936.
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    13. Clément, Matthieu & Levasseur, Pierre & Seetahul, Suneha, 2025. "Corrigendum to “Sex ratio and fertility preferences in India: A longitudinal analysis” [World Dev. 192 (2025) 107046]," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
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