On the Quantity and Quality of Girls: Fertility, Parental Investments, and Mortality

S Anukriti, Sonia Bhalotra and Eddy H. F. Tam
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Eddy H. F. Tam: University of Oxford

The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) from University of Warwick, Department of Economics

Abstract: Access to prenatal sex-detection technology in India has led to a phenomenal increase in abortion of girls. We find that it has also narrowed the gender gap in under-5 mortality, consistent with surviving girls being more wanted than aborted girls. For every three aborted girls, one additional girl survived to age five. Mechanisms include moderation of son-biased fertility stopping and narrowing of gender gaps in parental investments. However, surviving girls are more likely to be born in lower status families. Our findings have implications not only for counts of missing girls but also for the later life outcomes of girls.

Keywords: abortion; child mortality; fertility; gender; health; India; missing girls; parental investments; prenatal sex detection; sex-selection; ultrasound JEL Classification: I15; J13; J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-gen and nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Related works:
Journal Article: On the Quantity and Quality of Girls: Fertility, Parental Investments and Mortality (2022)
Working Paper: On the Quantity and Quality of Girls: Fertility, Parental Investments, and Mortality (2020)
Working Paper: On the Quantity and Quality of Girls: Fertility, Parental Investments, and Mortality (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wrk:warwec:1346

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