Daughter Elimination in Tamil Nadu, India: A Tale of Two Ratios

Sharada Srinivasan and Arjun Bedi

Journal of Development Studies, 2008, vol. 44, issue 7, 961-990

Abstract: A disturbing feature of demographic trends in India is the sharp decline in the proportion of girls to boys. Most existing analyses of the Indian child sex ratio present a country wide picture and focus on trends across states. Such state level analyses may hide intra state variation. This paper uses district and village data on sex ratio at birth and infant mortality to examine the extent, geographical spread and nature (before or after birth) of daughter deficit within the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Our analysis shows that (i) daughter deficit in Tamil Nadu occurs in nearly half the state's districts; (ii) a large proportion of daughter deficit occurs before birth; (iii) daughter deficit rises with birth order and (iv) daughter elimination is not confined to particular socio-economic groups.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1080/00220380802150755

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