Gender, Birth Order, and Child Growth: Evidence from Central Asia

Manzura Jumaniyazova (), Cara Ebert () and Janina I. Steinert ()
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Manzura Jumaniyazova: TU Munich, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Germany
Cara Ebert: RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, IZA Institute of Labor Economics, Germany
Janina I. Steinert: TU Munich, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology & TUM School of Medicine and Health, Germany

Munich Papers in Political Economy from Munich School of Politics and Public Policy and the School of Management at the Technical University of Munich

Abstract: This paper examines how son preference shapes physical growth outcomes of children under the age of five in Central Asia, where cultural preferences favour youngest sons. In a sample of over 40,000 children aged 0-5 years in five Central Asian countries, we estimate how height-for-age and weight-forage vary by children’s birth order and gender. Our results show a strong birth order gradient in growth of equal size for boys and girls, suggesting unequal intra-household resource allocation consistent with quantity-quality trade-offs. Despite the patriarchal social structure of the included countries, our analysis finds no evidence that preferences to have sons translate into differential growth outcomes by gender.

Keywords: son preference; birth order; child nutrition; Central Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I14 J12 J13 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2026-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aiw:wpaper:46

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