Temperature and Sex Ratios at Birth

Jasmin Abdel Ghany (), Joshua Wilde, Anna Dimitrova, Ridhi Kashyap and Raya Muttarak
Additional contact information
Jasmin Abdel Ghany: University of Oxford
Anna Dimitrova: University of California
Ridhi Kashyap: University of Oxford
Raya Muttarak: University of Bologna

No 17310, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Sex ratios at birth shape populations and are linked to maternal health and gender discrimination. We estimate the effect of prenatal temperature exposure on birth sex by linking data on 5 million births in 33 sub-Saharan African countries and India with high-resolution temperature data. We find that days with a maximum temperature above 20°C reduce male births in both regions. In sub-Saharan Africa, we observe fewer male births after high first trimester temperature exposure, consistent with increased spontaneous abortions from maternal heat stress. By contrast, in India we find second trimester temperature exposure is associated with fewer male births, consistent with reductions in induced sex-selective abortions against girls. These findings demonstrate that climate change harms maternal health, increases prenatal mortality, and reduces engagement with the health system.

Keywords: sex ratios at birth; temperature; prenatal exposure; maternal health; abortion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I15 J10 J13 O13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20 pages
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-env, nep-hea and nep-ipr
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