An Increase in the Sex Ratio of Births to India‐born Mothers in England and Wales: Evidence for Sex‐Selective Abortion

Male preference in many Asian cultures results in discriminatory practices against females, including neglect and infanticide. This preference, together with the availability of prenatal sex determination and sex‐selective abortion, has led to an increase in sex ratios at birth in China, India, and South Korea. The resulting expected gender imbalances raise ethical, demographic, and social concerns. We analyzed birth statistics to see whether similar trends are apparent among births to foreign‐born mothers in England and Wales. Before 1990, sex ratios at birth were consistently nearly one point lower (104) for the three major Asian groups in Britain compared with mothers born in Western countries. This is inconsistent with previous suggestions that Asian populations have a higher “natural” sex ratio at birth. In the birth statistics since 1990, we find a four‐point increase in the sex ratio at birth for mothers born in India, attributable particularly to an increase at higher birth orders, mirroring findings reported for India. This suggests that sex‐selective abortion is occurring among mothers born in India and living in Britain. By contrast, no significant increase was observed for Pakistan‐born and Bangladesh‐born mothers, among whom male preference also exists. It seems that male preference in different cultures does not necessarily lead to sex‐selective abortion.     

Evidence for an Incipient Decline in Numbers of Missing Girls in China and India

The apparently inexorable rise in the proportion of “missing girls” in much of East and South Asia has attracted much attention among researchers and policymakers. An encouraging trend was suggested by the case of South Korea, where child sex ratios (males to females under age 5) were the highest in Asia but peaked in the mid‐1990s and normalized thereafter. Using census data, we examine whether similar trends have begun to manifest themselves in the two most populous countries of this region, China and India. The data indicate that child sex ratios are peaking in these countries, and in many subnational regions are beginning to trend toward lower, more normal values. This suggests that, with continuing economic and social development and vigorous public policy efforts to reduce son preference, the “missing girls” phenomenon could eventually disappear in Asia.     

Old Habits Die Hard? Lingering Son Preference in an Era of Normalizing Sex Ratios at Birth in South Korea

South Korea was among the first countries to report both an abnormally high sex ratio at birth (SRB) and its subsequent normalization. We examine the role of son preference in driving fertility intentions during a period of declining SRB and consider the contribution of individual characteristics and broader social context to explaining changes in intentions. We employ data from the National Survey on Fertility, Family Health and Welfare that span 1991–2012. We find that reported son preference declined to a great extent but remained substantial by the end of the observation period, and that the intention to have a third child still differed by sex of existing children. Change in individual-level factors does not explain the decline in son preference, suggesting that broad social changes were also important. This study provides a better understanding of how son preference evolves in the post-transitional context of very low fertility.     

Sex‐Selective Abortions in India

Provisional estimates from the 2001 census of India, which showed unusually high sex ratios for young children, have sparked renewed concern about the growing use of sex‐selective abortions to satisfy parental preferences for sons. According to the 1998–99 National Family Health Survey (NFHS‐2), in recent years the sex ratio at birth in India has been abnormally high (107–121 males per 100 females) in 16 of India's 26 states. Data from NFHS‐2 on abortions, sex ratios at birth, son preference, and the use of ultrasound and amniocentesis during pregnancy present compelling evidence of the extensive use of sex‐selective abortions, particularly in Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab. The authors estimate that in the late 1990s more than 100,000 sex‐selective abortions of female fetuses were being performed annually in India. Recent efforts to expand and enforce government regulations against this practice may have some effect, but they are not likely to be completely successful without changes in the societal conditions that foster son preference.     

The Sex Ratio Transition in Asia

This article adopts a comparative perspective to review the recent increase in the sex ratio at birth (SRB) across Asia. It first describes and compares the most recent birth statistics in Asia in order to identify commonalities in the gradual rise of SRBs observed from Armenia to South Korea. This comparison provides the basis for identifying specific transition patterns in the changes in SRBs. Their recent rise is then interpreted in a social and historical framework borrowed from fertility decline and based on three preconditions: access to sex‐selection technology, preference for male births, and pressure from low fertility. On a broader plane, the process of growing imbalances in the sex composition of the population gives rise to a tragedy of the commons. This article indicates the factors that appear most likely to trigger a turnaround in this transitional demographic situation and to facilitate a return to biologically normal sex ratios in the future.     

Mapping the diversity of gender preferences and sex imbalances in Indonesia in 2010

Indonesia is usually viewed as a country free of the acute forms of gender discrimination observed elsewhere in East or South Asia, a situation often ascribed to Indonesia's bilateral kinship system. I re-examine this hypothesis by focusing on ethnic and regional variations in sex differentials. New indicators of marriage practices and gender bias derived from 2010 census microdata highlight the presence of patrilocal patterns as well as a distinct presence of son preference in fertility behaviour in many parts of the archipelago. I also present evidence for excessive child sex ratios and excess mortality of females in some areas that appear to be related to son preference and patrilocal residence systems. The findings confirm the association between son preference, sex differentials in mortality, prenatal sex selection, and kinship systems. I conclude with a more regional perspective on demographic vulnerability of females, distinguishing bilateral South East Asia from more patrilineal Melanesia.     

生育性别偏好行为的双向选择——来自陕西省神木县的调查发现

本研究根据神木县经济、社会发展以及政策调整,结合群众的生育观念调查和访谈,以出生人口性别比变动趋势分析生育性别偏好的发展和变化。研究发现,在经济、社会发展以及政策调整进程中,存在生育性别偏好的双向选择：一方面,男孩功能随着经济与社会发展出现减弱,促进了不再追求生育儿子的生育性别偏好正向选择;另一方面,在男孩偏好文化顽固的地区,经济社会发展与政策调整刺激了男孩偏好,加剧了偏好儿子的生育性别偏好逆向选择。研究有利于明确经济、社会以及政策对于生育性别偏好的影响,从而为进一步制定有效的性别失衡治理政策提供依据。     

Evidence mounts for sex-selective abortion in Asia

In Korea, China, and Taiwan--countries where son preference persists--the availability of prenatal screening techniques and induced abortion has produced an imbalance in the naturally occurring sex ratios of 104-107 male births for every 100 female births. Policy responses to sex-selective abortion were the focus of a 1994 International Symposium on Sex Preference for Children in the Rapidly Changing Demographic Dynamics in Asia sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund and the Government of the Republic of Korea. Modern technology (i.e., amniocentesis, ultrasound, and chorionic villi sampling) enables couples to control both family size and sex selection. According to data from the 1990 Korean Census, 80,000 female fetuses were aborted from 1986-90 as a result of son preference. In the late 1980s, the Governments of Korea, China, and India imposed bans on the use of medical technology for prenatal sex determination, but many observers maintain that regulations have served only to make the procedures clandestine and more expensive. To remedy the problems underlying sex-selective abortion, the Symposium recommended the following government actions: 1) implement policies and programs to diminish gender discrimination; 2) establish guidelines for the monitoring and regulation of prenatal testing; 3) utilize mass and folk media, interpersonal channels, and school curricula to promote gender equality; 4) strengthen the ethics curriculum of medical schools to address son preference; and 5) increase the capability of statistical and research organizations to collect gender-disaggregated data.     

Explaining Asia's “Missing Women”: A New Look at the Data

The fact that millions of females are “missing” in East Asia and South Asia has been attributed to cultural factors that support strong son preference in these countries. A widely disseminated paper by Emily Oster argues that a large part of this phenomenon can be attributed to excessively masculine sex ratios at birth resulting from maternal infection with hepatitis B. If her thesis is true, current policies to address this problem would need to be reframed to include biological factors in addition to cultural factors. The data show, however, that whether or not females “go missing” is determined by the existing sex composition of the family into which they are conceived. Girls with no older sisters have similar chances of survival as boys. However, girls conceived in families that already have a daughter experience steeply higher probabilities of being aborted or of dying in early childhood. This indicates that cultural factors still provide the overwhelming explanation for the “missing” females.     

High Sex Ratios at Birth in the Caucasus: Modern Technology to Satisfy Old Desires

During the 1990s, the sex ratio at birth increased considerably and simultaneously in the three independent Caucasian countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. At the end of the first decade of the twenty‐first century, levels remain abnormally high in Armenia and Azerbaijan (above 114 male births per 100 female births) and show erratic trends in Georgia. Analyzing data from demographic surveys carried out around 2005, we confirm the persistence of high sex ratios in these three countries and document significant differences in fertility intentions and behavior according to the sex of the previous child or children that constitute evidence of the practice of sex‐selective abortion. These countries combine societal features and medical systems that make this phenomenon possible: son preference in a context of low fertility and the possibility of prenatal sex selection given easy access to ultrasound screening and induced abortion. Why high sex ratios are observed only in these three countries of the sub‐region remains, however, an open question.     

The Implementation of Preferences for Male Offspring

Over the past quarter century the sex ratio at birth (SRB) has risen above natural levels in a number of countries, mostly in Asia. This rise has been made possible in populations with strong son preference by the increasing availability of safe, effective, and inexpensive technologies to determine the sex of a fetus and to end unwanted pregnancies. This article documents levels and trends in the sex ratio at birth, in preferences for male offspring (using information on desired number of girls and boys), and in the implementation of these preferences. DHS surveys from 61 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and for Indian states are the main source of data. A comparison of desired with actual SRBs finds large gaps in most populations, implying a substantial pent‐up demand for male offspring and the technology to implement this preference. Two types of actions to implement preferences are considered: the practice of contraception to stop childbearing after the desired number of sons has been born and the use of sex‐selective abortion to avoid female births. The second part of the article discusses factors that could influence the SRB, including the promotion of gender equality, and the implications of these factors for future trends.     

The pattern of changing trends and the regional differences in the sex ratio at birth: evidence from Korea and Jilin Province,China

"The main purpose of this study is to develop explanations for the pattern of recently changing trends and regional differences in the sex ratio at birth in Korea and for Koreans in Jilin Province and Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, China.... The findings suggest that, since the mid-1980s, sex ratios at birth have risen remarkably in Korea.... This paper also highlights the recent increase in the sex ratio at birth for the Korean population in China, residing in urban areas densely populated with Koreans. As the key forces behind the regional differences in sex ratios at birth, the effects of son-selective reproductive behaviors, which in turn, are affected by the community characteristics, are stressed."     

Sex Differentials in Childhood Feeding,Health Care,and Nutritional Status in India

Strong preference for sons in South Asia is well documented, but evidence on female disadvantage in childhood feeding, health care, and nutritional status is inconclusive. This article examines sex differentials in indicators of childhood feeding, health care, and nutritional status of children under age 3 by birth order and sex composition of older living siblings. Data are from India's 1992–93 and 1998–99 National Family Health Surveys. The analysis finds three reasons for inconclusive evidence on female disadvantage in aggregate analyses. First, discrimination against girls is limited to the relatively small fraction of children of certain birth orders and sex compositions of older siblings. Second, discrimination against girls when boys are in short supply and discrimination against boys when girls are in short supply cancel each other to some extent. Third, some discrimination against girls (e.g., in exclusive breastfeeding at 6–9 months) is nutritionally beneficial to girls. Separate analyses for North and South India find that gender discrimination is as common in the South as in the North, where son preference is generally much stronger.     

中韩出生人口性别比偏高现象之审视

中韩两国在出生人口性别比的变化特点、出生人口性别比偏高产生的原因等方面有着极为相似之处,总结韩国应对出生人口性别比偏高的措施和做法．特别是通过促进妇女政策环境的形成和建立社会性别平等机制来治理出生人口性别比偏高的经验。对于中国具有十分重要的借鉴作用。     

女性地位低的层级推演--对出生性别比偏高背后隐象的探析

目前学术界对出生性别比偏高原因的争论主要集中在出生婴儿性别次序先后与下一孩次性别关系以及计划生育政策和女婴存在漏报、瞒报的影响等三个方面,本文在对三大传统观点提出质疑的基础上,先从生物学、计划生育政策、医学技术三个方面,而后从性别偏好,最后从女性地位低这三级递进的层次,推演和探析出生性别比偏高的原因,从而明晰出生性别比偏高的终极原因在于女性地位低这一事实。并努力从女性地位、男性偏好以及出生性别比三者关系上构造出一个新的分析框架。     

Sex preferences and fertility in South Korea during the year of the horse

Since antiquity, people in several East Asian countries, such as China, Japan, and South Korea, have believed that a person is destined to possess specific characteristics according to the sign of the zodiac under which he or she was born. South Koreans, in particular, have traditionally considered that the year of the Horse bears inauspicious implications for the birth of daughters. Using monthly longitudinal data at the region level in South Korea between 1970 and 2003, we found that in the year of the Horse, the sex ratio at birth significantly increased while fertility decreased.     

农村独女户男孩偏好转化研究——基于湖北部分县市的抽样调查

在性别比居高不下的大环境下,湖北农村的独女户群体依然保持一定规模但其男性偏好呈现弱化走势,本文通过比较独女户群体和有几户群体在基本生存状况、生育意愿、性别平等观念等方面的差异和不同,来分析“独女户”这种家庭结构的选择对男孩偏好的影响的制约,以期为性别比控制政策的制定做出有益探索。     

韩国出生性别比失衡的公共治理及对中国的启示

韩国出生性别比呈现先上升后下降的态势,韩国出生性别比偏高的直接原因是性别选择流、引产,而传统文化是根源性的原因,韩国性别失衡带来一系列社会后果,影响了韩国的社会稳定;韩国政府出台了一系列旨在维护女童权益、反对歧视女性、提高女性地位的法律法规;韩国的公民社会也作出了许多有益的尝试,通过公共治理,出生性别比出现显著下降,而且女性地位得到较大提升;韩国性别比失衡问题的治理对中国解决相关人口问题有着重要的借鉴意义。     

中国农民工的社会网络与性别偏好——基于深圳调查的研究

文章利用西安交通大学人口与发展研究所2005年中国深圳市农民工调查数据,基于社会网络理论定量研究了农民工的性别偏好现状及其影响因素。研究发现流动后农民工的生育观念与行为仍具有明显的男孩偏好特征;社会网络因素、流动因素和个体因素在一定程度上对农民工的男孩偏好观念与行为产生了影响。本文的研究结果对于理解中国城镇人口出生性别比偏高的现象和原因有重要作用。     

Son preference, sex selection, and kinship in Vietnam

This article examines the recent rise in the sex ratio at birth in Vietnam and relates its emergence to kinship systems and ethnic composition using 2009 census micro-data. Presentation of the main socioeconomic and ethnic differentials in birth masculinity is followed by a review of the three intermediate factors leading to increases in the sex ratio at birth: prenatal technology, declining fertility, and gender bias. An indirect measurement of fertility behavior is used to demonstrate the close association between levels of the sex ratio at birth and the intensity of son preference. Data on household composition indicate that Vietnam is characterized by the co-existence of kinship patterns typical of East and Southeast Asia. Son preference in Vietnam is found to be related to the prevalence of more traditional patrilineal systems. The article concludes by considering the implications of the cultural dimensions of prenatal sex selection for policy responses and for the likely future change in the sex ratio at birth.