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Testing for Son Preference in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Lata Gangadharan

    (University of Melbourne)

  • Pushkar Maitra

    (University of Sydney)

Abstract

Evidence from most developing countries suggest that parents have a preference for sons over daughters. This is know as son preference. This paper uses individual level unit record data to test the son preference hypothesis in South Africa. We use an accelerated hazard model to estimate the duration between successive births and our results indicate that son preference exists only for the Indian community in South Africa. Indian households prefer to have a higher duration between children following the birth of a son, irrespective of the number of children they already have. For the rest of the population, there is either no son preference or in some cases a weak preference for daughters. Our results appear to refute the usual arguments for son preference (including support for elderly parents and contribution to household income) and instead suggest the importance of religious beliefs and social customs (dowry system, lineage, familial and kinship ties etc.) in directing parental preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Lata Gangadharan & Pushkar Maitra, 2000. "Testing for Son Preference in South Africa," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 0072, Econometric Society.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecm:wc2000:0072
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    Cited by:

    1. Soo Hong Chew & Junjian Yi & Junsen Zhang & Songfa Zhong, 2018. "Risk Aversion and Son Preference: Experimental Evidence from Chinese Twin Parents," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(8), pages 3896-3910, August.
    2. Lambert, Sylvie & Rossi, Pauline, 2016. "Sons as widowhood insurance: Evidence from Senegal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 113-127.
    3. Aparna Lhila & Kosali Simon, 2008. "Prenatal health investment decisions: Does the child’s sex matter?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(4), pages 885-905, November.
    4. Rossi, Pauline & Rouanet, Léa, 2015. "Gender Preferences in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Fertility Choices," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 326-345.
    5. Tarun Jain, 2014. "Where There Is a Will: Fertility Behavior and Sex Bias in Large Families," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 49(2), pages 393-423.
    6. Silvia Helena Barcellos & Leandro S. Carvalho & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2014. "Child Gender and Parental Investments in India: Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 157-189, January.
    7. Neeraj Kaushal & Felix M. Muchomba, 2018. "Missing time with parents: son preference among Asians in the USA," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(2), pages 397-427, April.
    8. Bhalotra, Sonia & Clots-Figueras, Irma & Iyer, Lakshmi, 2021. "Religion and abortion: The role of politician identity," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    9. Duan Huiqiong & Hicks Daniel L., 2020. "New evidence on son preference among immigrant households in the United States," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-28, January.
    10. Lindskog, Annika, 2013. "The effect of siblings’ education on school-entry in the Ethiopian highlands," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 45-68.
    11. Margaret Irving, 2008. "Gender patterns in household health expenditure allocation: A study of South Africa," Economics Series Working Papers CSAE WPS/2008-32, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    12. Tani, Massimiliano & Wen, Xin & Cheng, Zhiming, 2023. "Daughters, Savings and Household Finances," IZA Discussion Papers 16440, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Michel Garenne & Nancy Stiegler, 2023. "Parental sex-preferences in South Africa: culture and family composition," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 1-15, December.
    14. van der Stoep, Gabrielle, 2008. "Childbearing and labour force participation in South Africa: sibling composition as an identification strategy?," MPRA Paper 52908, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
    • C24 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models; Threshold Regression Models

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