Optimal sequential fertility choices under discriminatory preferences

Jianxun Lyu ()
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Jianxun Lyu: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Journal of Population Economics, 2025, vol. 38, issue 1, No 36, 51 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper investigates the optimal fertility strategy and its impact on the fertility rate and parental investment in a patriarchal society. Parents with son bias first make sequential fertility choices and then make parental investment decisions based on the realized sex composition of children. The optimal fertility strategy is a one-stage look-ahead strategy and represents a son-preferring stopping rule. I characterize the resulting population distribution of the possible sex combinations of children in a family, which shows that females are disproportionately born into larger families and, as a result, receive less investment than males, on average. In addition, both under- and over-reproduction occur in a patriarchal society, but the average fertility rate may be lower than in a gender-neutral society. Lastly, I show that the son-preferring stopping rule as the optimal strategy is robust to the introduction of sex selection and alternative investment options for a large set of parameters.

Keywords: Optimal fertility strategy; Son preference; Sibling sex composition; Gender inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C61 J13 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s00148-025-01095-2

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