Culture, Economic Stress, and Missing Girls

Viktor Malein, Tamar Matiashvili and Beltrán Tapia, Francisco
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia

No 18761, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Cultural norms play a pivotal role in shaping how societies respond to crises. This study examines the causal effect of ethnic-specific gender norms on gender-biased mortality during resource shocks. Studying the 1891-1892 Russian famine, we compare cohorts born before and after the famine in districts differentially affected by the famine and with diverse gender norms. Our findings reveal that areas where women were depicted more negatively suffered a more skewed sex ratio favouring male survival. Our empirical exercise further stresses the importance of the cultural channel in driving these results and emphasizes the role of agency in survival outcomes. This study sheds light on the profound influence of cultural norms on survival-relevant decisions during crises, pointing at culturally ingrained channels of discrimination.

Keywords: Famine; Sex ratios; Folklore (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 N33 N53 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-01
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://cepr.org/publications/DP18761 (application/pdf)
CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:18761

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
https://cepr.org/publications/DP18761

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers Centre for Economic Policy Research, 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().