Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions

A family preference for sons over daughters may manifest itself in different ways, including higher mortality, worse health status, or lower educational attainment among girls. This study focuses on one measure of son preference in the developing w...

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Main Authors:	Filmer, Deon, Friedman, Jed, Schady, Norbert
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ADOLESCENCE BIRTH COHORT BIRTH ORDER BIRTH SPACING BULLETIN CHILD HEALTH CHILD MORTALITY CHILD NUTRITION CHILDBEARING CHINESE POPULATION CONSEQUENCES OF FERTILITY CONTRACEPTIVE USE CULTURAL CHANGE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT OF BOYS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN ECONOMIC CHANGE ECONOMIC RESOURCES EDUCATED MOTHERS EDUCATED WOMEN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EDUCATIONAL INVESTMENT ENROLLMENT EQUAL TREATMENT EXCESS MORTALITY FAMILY BACKGROUND FAMILY COMPOSITION FAMILY PREFERENCE FAMILY SIZE FAMILY SIZES FEMALE FEMALE CHILDREN FEMALE EDUCATION FERTILITY FERTILITY BEHAVIOR FERTILITY DECLINE FERTILITY LEVELS FERTILITY PREFERENCES FERTILITY RATES GENDER GENDER BALANCE GENDER COMPOSITION GENDER DIFFERENCES GENDER DISCRIMINATION GENDER EQUALITY GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS GENDER PREFERENCE GENDER PREFERENCES GENDERS HEALTH CARE HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT HUMAN RESOURCES IMMUNIZATION INEQUALITY INHERITANCE INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING PERSPECTIVES JUSTICE LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LARGER FAMILIES LEVELS OF EDUCATION LIFETIME FERTILITY LIVING STANDARDS MODERNIZATION MORTALITY MORTALITY DIFFERENTIALS MOTHER NUMBER OF BIRTHS NUMBER OF CHILDREN NUMBER OF GIRLS NUMBER OF WOMEN NUTRITION NUTRITIONAL STATUS OLD-AGE PARITY PLACE OF RESIDENCE POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POORER WOMEN POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT POPULATION ESTIMATES POPULATION STUDIES PREFERENCE FOR SONS PREGNANCY PREGNANCY STATUS PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIMARY SCHOOL PROGRESS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SERVICES READING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESOURCE ALLOCATION RURAL AREAS RURAL COMMUNITIES SCHOOLING SECOND BIRTHS SEX SEX BIAS SEX PREFERENCE SEX PREFERENCES SEX RATIO SEX RATIOS SON PREFERENCE SOUTH ASIAN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO URBAN AREAS URBANIZATION WILL WOMAN
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/09/9840974/development-modernization-son-preference-fertility-decisions http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6995

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recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-69952021-04-23T14:02:32Z Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions Filmer, Deon Friedman, Jed Schady, Norbert ADOLESCENCE BIRTH COHORT BIRTH ORDER BIRTH SPACING BULLETIN CHILD HEALTH CHILD MORTALITY CHILD NUTRITION CHILDBEARING CHINESE POPULATION CONSEQUENCES OF FERTILITY CONTRACEPTIVE USE CULTURAL CHANGE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT OF BOYS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN ECONOMIC CHANGE ECONOMIC RESOURCES EDUCATED MOTHERS EDUCATED WOMEN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EDUCATIONAL INVESTMENT ENROLLMENT EQUAL TREATMENT EXCESS MORTALITY FAMILY BACKGROUND FAMILY COMPOSITION FAMILY PREFERENCE FAMILY SIZE FAMILY SIZES FEMALE FEMALE CHILDREN FEMALE EDUCATION FERTILITY FERTILITY BEHAVIOR FERTILITY DECLINE FERTILITY LEVELS FERTILITY PREFERENCES FERTILITY RATES GENDER GENDER BALANCE GENDER COMPOSITION GENDER DIFFERENCES GENDER DISCRIMINATION GENDER EQUALITY GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS GENDER PREFERENCE GENDER PREFERENCES GENDERS HEALTH CARE HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT HUMAN RESOURCES IMMUNIZATION INEQUALITY INHERITANCE INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING PERSPECTIVES JUSTICE LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LARGER FAMILIES LEVELS OF EDUCATION LIFETIME FERTILITY LIVING STANDARDS MODERNIZATION MORTALITY MORTALITY DIFFERENTIALS MOTHER NUMBER OF BIRTHS NUMBER OF CHILDREN NUMBER OF GIRLS NUMBER OF WOMEN NUTRITION NUTRITIONAL STATUS OLD-AGE PARITY PLACE OF RESIDENCE POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POORER WOMEN POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT POPULATION ESTIMATES POPULATION STUDIES PREFERENCE FOR SONS PREGNANCY PREGNANCY STATUS PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIMARY SCHOOL PROGRESS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SERVICES READING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESOURCE ALLOCATION RURAL AREAS RURAL COMMUNITIES SCHOOLING SECOND BIRTHS SEX SEX BIAS SEX PREFERENCE SEX PREFERENCES SEX RATIO SEX RATIOS SON PREFERENCE SOUTH ASIAN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO URBAN AREAS URBANIZATION WILL WOMAN A family preference for sons over daughters may manifest itself in different ways, including higher mortality, worse health status, or lower educational attainment among girls. This study focuses on one measure of son preference in the developing world, namely the likelihood of continued childbearing given the gender composition of existing children in the family. The authors use an unusually large data set, covering 65 countries and approximately 5 million births. The analysis shows that son preference is apparent in many regions of the developing world and is particularly large in South Asia and in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. Modernization does not appear to reduce son preference. For example, in South Asia son preference is larger for women with more education and is increasing over time. The explanation for these patterns appears to be that latent son preference in childbearing is more likely to manifest itself when fertility levels are low. As a result of son preference, girls tend to grow up with significantly more siblings than boys do, which may have implications for their wellbeing if there are quantity-quality trade-offs that result in fewer material and emotional resources allocated to children in larger families. 2012-06-04T16:06:22Z 2012-06-04T16:06:22Z 2008-09 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/09/9840974/development-modernization-son-preference-fertility-decisions http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6995 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4716 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	ADOLESCENCE BIRTH COHORT BIRTH ORDER BIRTH SPACING BULLETIN CHILD HEALTH CHILD MORTALITY CHILD NUTRITION CHILDBEARING CHINESE POPULATION CONSEQUENCES OF FERTILITY CONTRACEPTIVE USE CULTURAL CHANGE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT OF BOYS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN ECONOMIC CHANGE ECONOMIC RESOURCES EDUCATED MOTHERS EDUCATED WOMEN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EDUCATIONAL INVESTMENT ENROLLMENT EQUAL TREATMENT EXCESS MORTALITY FAMILY BACKGROUND FAMILY COMPOSITION FAMILY PREFERENCE FAMILY SIZE FAMILY SIZES FEMALE FEMALE CHILDREN FEMALE EDUCATION FERTILITY FERTILITY BEHAVIOR FERTILITY DECLINE FERTILITY LEVELS FERTILITY PREFERENCES FERTILITY RATES GENDER GENDER BALANCE GENDER COMPOSITION GENDER DIFFERENCES GENDER DISCRIMINATION GENDER EQUALITY GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS GENDER PREFERENCE GENDER PREFERENCES GENDERS HEALTH CARE HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT HUMAN RESOURCES IMMUNIZATION INEQUALITY INHERITANCE INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING PERSPECTIVES JUSTICE LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LARGER FAMILIES LEVELS OF EDUCATION LIFETIME FERTILITY LIVING STANDARDS MODERNIZATION MORTALITY MORTALITY DIFFERENTIALS MOTHER NUMBER OF BIRTHS NUMBER OF CHILDREN NUMBER OF GIRLS NUMBER OF WOMEN NUTRITION NUTRITIONAL STATUS OLD-AGE PARITY PLACE OF RESIDENCE POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POORER WOMEN POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT POPULATION ESTIMATES POPULATION STUDIES PREFERENCE FOR SONS PREGNANCY PREGNANCY STATUS PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIMARY SCHOOL PROGRESS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SERVICES READING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESOURCE ALLOCATION RURAL AREAS RURAL COMMUNITIES SCHOOLING SECOND BIRTHS SEX SEX BIAS SEX PREFERENCE SEX PREFERENCES SEX RATIO SEX RATIOS SON PREFERENCE SOUTH ASIAN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO URBAN AREAS URBANIZATION WILL WOMAN
spellingShingle	ADOLESCENCE BIRTH COHORT BIRTH ORDER BIRTH SPACING BULLETIN CHILD HEALTH CHILD MORTALITY CHILD NUTRITION CHILDBEARING CHINESE POPULATION CONSEQUENCES OF FERTILITY CONTRACEPTIVE USE CULTURAL CHANGE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPMENT OF BOYS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN ECONOMIC CHANGE ECONOMIC RESOURCES EDUCATED MOTHERS EDUCATED WOMEN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EDUCATIONAL INVESTMENT ENROLLMENT EQUAL TREATMENT EXCESS MORTALITY FAMILY BACKGROUND FAMILY COMPOSITION FAMILY PREFERENCE FAMILY SIZE FAMILY SIZES FEMALE FEMALE CHILDREN FEMALE EDUCATION FERTILITY FERTILITY BEHAVIOR FERTILITY DECLINE FERTILITY LEVELS FERTILITY PREFERENCES FERTILITY RATES GENDER GENDER BALANCE GENDER COMPOSITION GENDER DIFFERENCES GENDER DISCRIMINATION GENDER EQUALITY GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS GENDER PREFERENCE GENDER PREFERENCES GENDERS HEALTH CARE HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT HUMAN RESOURCES IMMUNIZATION INEQUALITY INHERITANCE INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING INTERNATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING PERSPECTIVES JUSTICE LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LARGER FAMILIES LEVELS OF EDUCATION LIFETIME FERTILITY LIVING STANDARDS MODERNIZATION MORTALITY MORTALITY DIFFERENTIALS MOTHER NUMBER OF BIRTHS NUMBER OF CHILDREN NUMBER OF GIRLS NUMBER OF WOMEN NUTRITION NUTRITIONAL STATUS OLD-AGE PARITY PLACE OF RESIDENCE POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POORER WOMEN POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT POPULATION ESTIMATES POPULATION STUDIES PREFERENCE FOR SONS PREGNANCY PREGNANCY STATUS PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIMARY SCHOOL PROGRESS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SERVICES READING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RESOURCE ALLOCATION RURAL AREAS RURAL COMMUNITIES SCHOOLING SECOND BIRTHS SEX SEX BIAS SEX PREFERENCE SEX PREFERENCES SEX RATIO SEX RATIOS SON PREFERENCE SOUTH ASIAN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO URBAN AREAS URBANIZATION WILL WOMAN Filmer, Deon Friedman, Jed Schady, Norbert Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions
relation	Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4716
description	A family preference for sons over daughters may manifest itself in different ways, including higher mortality, worse health status, or lower educational attainment among girls. This study focuses on one measure of son preference in the developing world, namely the likelihood of continued childbearing given the gender composition of existing children in the family. The authors use an unusually large data set, covering 65 countries and approximately 5 million births. The analysis shows that son preference is apparent in many regions of the developing world and is particularly large in South Asia and in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. Modernization does not appear to reduce son preference. For example, in South Asia son preference is larger for women with more education and is increasing over time. The explanation for these patterns appears to be that latent son preference in childbearing is more likely to manifest itself when fertility levels are low. As a result of son preference, girls tend to grow up with significantly more siblings than boys do, which may have implications for their wellbeing if there are quantity-quality trade-offs that result in fewer material and emotional resources allocated to children in larger families.
format	Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author	Filmer, Deon Friedman, Jed Schady, Norbert
author_facet	Filmer, Deon Friedman, Jed Schady, Norbert
author_sort	Filmer, Deon
title	Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions
title_short	Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions
title_full	Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions
title_fullStr	Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions
title_full_unstemmed	Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions
title_sort	development, modernization, and son preference in fertility decisions
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2012
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/09/9840974/development-modernization-son-preference-fertility-decisions http://hdl.handle.net/10986/6995
_version_	1764401227564580864

Development, Modernization, and Son Preference in Fertility Decisions

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