Is Son Preference Disappearing from Bangladesh?

M Asadullah, Nazia Mansoor, Teresa Randazzo () and Zaki Wahhaj
Additional contact information
Teresa Randazzo: University of Naples Parthenope

No 13996, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Historically, son preference has been widely prevalent in South Asia, manifested in the form of skewed sex ratios, gender differentials in child mortality, and worse educational investments in daughters versus sons. In the present study, we show, using data from a purposefully designed nationally representative survey for Bangladesh, that among women of childbearing age, son bias in stated fertility preferences has weakened and there is an emerging preference for gender balance. We examine a number of different hypotheses for the decline in son preference, including the increasing availability of female employment in the manufacturing sector, increased female education, and the decline of joint family living. Using survival analysis, we show that in contrast to stated fertility preferences, actual fertility decisions are still shaped by son preference.

Keywords: female employment; birth spacing; gender bias; fertility; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J11 J13 J16 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2020-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-evo and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: World Development, 2021, 140, 105353

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Related works:
Journal Article: Is son preference disappearing from Bangladesh? (2021)
Working Paper: Is Son Preference Disappearing from Bangladesh? (2020)
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