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Son Preference, Fertility Decline, and the Nonmissing Girls of Turkey

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  • Onur Altindag

    (City University of New York)

Abstract

Couples in Turkey exhibit son preference through son-biased differential stopping behavior that does not cause a sex ratio imbalance in the population. Demand for sons leads to lower ratios of boys to girls in larger families but higher ratios in smaller families. Girls are born earlier than their male siblings, and son-biased fertility behavior is persistent in response to decline in fertility over time and across households with parents from different backgrounds. Parents use contraceptive methods to halt fertility following a male birth. The sibling sex composition is associated with gender disparities in health. Among third- or later-born children, female infant mortality is 1.5 percentage points lower if the previous sibling is male. The female survival advantage, however, disappears if the previous sibling is female. Having an older female sibling shifts the gender gap in infant mortality rate by 2 percentage points in favor of males. The improvement in infant mortality is strongest in favor of males who have no older male siblings.

Suggested Citation

  • Onur Altindag, 2016. "Son Preference, Fertility Decline, and the Nonmissing Girls of Turkey," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(2), pages 541-566, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:53:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s13524-016-0455-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-016-0455-0
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    2. Marianna BATTAGLIA & Bastien CHABÉ-FERRET & Lara LEBEDINSKI, 2021. "Segregation, fertility, and son preference: the case of the Roma in Serbia," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(2), pages 233-260, June.
    3. Qianqian Shang & Quanbao Jiang & Yongkun Yin, 2022. "How Does Children's Sex Affect Parental Sex Preference: Preference Adaptation and Learning," Working Papers wp2022_2202, CEMFI.
    4. Seik Kim & Sam-Ho Lee, 2020. "Son Preference and Fertility Decisions: Evidence From Spatiotemporal Variation in Korea," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 927-951, June.
    5. Sarah Carol & Karsten Hank, 2020. "Natives’ and Immigrants’ Gender Preferences for Children in Germany," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(2), pages 235-246, April.
    6. Aurélien Dasre & Angela Greulich & Inan Ceren, 2017. "Combating domestic violence against women in Turkey. The role of women's economic empowerment," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01660703, HAL.
    7. Serhii Maksymovych & William Appleman & Zurab Abramishvili, 2023. "Parental gender preference in the Balkans and Scandinavia: gender bias or differential costs?," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 1-48, December.
    8. Zurab Abramishvili & William Appleman & Sergii Maksymovych, 2019. "Parental Gender Preference in the Balkans and Scandinavia: Gender Bias or Differential Costs?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp643, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    9. Vu, Tien Manh & Yamada, Hiroyuki, 2020. "Sex Ratio and Religion in Vietnam," AGI Working Paper Series 2020-03, Asian Growth Research Institute.
    10. Eleanor Jawon Choi & Jisoo Hwang, 2020. "Transition of Son Preference: Evidence From South Korea," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 627-652, April.
    11. Aurélien Dasré & Angela Greulich & Ceren Inan, 2017. "Combating domestic violence against women in Turkey. The role of women's economic empowerment," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 17052, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    12. Valentine Becquet & Nicolás Sacco & Ignacio Pardo, 2022. "Disparities in Gender Preference and Fertility: Southeast Asia and Latin America in a Comparative Perspective," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 1295-1323, June.
    13. Merve Demirel-Derebasoglu & Cagla Okten, 2022. "Gender Gap in Intergenerational Educational Persistence: Can Compulsory Schooling Reduce It?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(5), pages 2037-2083, October.
    14. Sehar Ezdi & Ahmet Melik Baş, 2020. "Gender preferences and fertility: Investigating the case of Turkish immigrants in Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(3), pages 59-96.
    15. Anna‐Maria Aksan, 2022. "Son preference and the demographic transition," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 32-56, February.
    16. Nahid Tavassoli, 2021. "The Gender-Biased Fertility Behavior: Evidence from Southeast Asian Countries," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 2, pages 235-261, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Son preference; Stopping rules; Turkey; Infant health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General

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