How Does Children’s Sex Affect Parental Sex Preference : Evidence from India

This study examines the effects of children’s sex on parental sex preference in a context where a strong preference for sons is deeply embedded in the culture. We examine the effects for both men and women and investigate how the effects vary across different people. Based on data from the Indian Demographic and Health Survey in 2015-2016, we find that a first-born daughter decreases the ideal proportion of sons by 3.7-3.9 percentage points (pp) and increases the ideal proportion of daughters by 4.8-4.9 pp. The effects are equally sizable for men and women. Further analysis reveals that the effects of the first child's sex are larger for those who have relatively weak son preference than for those who have relatively strong son preference, i.e., those with secondary education vs. those without secondary education, those in urban areas vs. those in rural areas, and those in the south where endogamy is practiced vs. those in the north where exogamy is practiced