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The Transition of Son Preference: Evidence from Southeast Asian Countries

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  • Tavassoli Nahid

    (Department of Economics, Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX, USA)

Abstract

This paper explores the existence of son preference and gender-based fertility behavior among Southeast Asian mothers. Using census data of ten countries (Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) over the years 1970-2014 and a sample of over 18 million observation, I show that having a first-born girl is associated with 0.16 more children in the household, equivalent to 7.2 percent rise from the mean. The marginal effects are quite robust across various specifications and subsamples. The effects are larger for countries with lower human development index and individuals with lower education. A birth cohort analysis show that the effects are significantly smaller for later cohorts implying that son preference fertility behavior has diminished over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Tavassoli Nahid, 2021. "The Transition of Son Preference: Evidence from Southeast Asian Countries," Economics, Sciendo, vol. 9(1), pages 43-67, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:econom:v:9:y:2021:i:1:p:43-67:n:10
    DOI: 10.2478/eoik-2021-0010
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Son Preference; Gender Discrimination; Fertility; Family Planning; Family Economics; Sex Selection; Culture;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General

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