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Sex selection and health at birth among Indian immigrants

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Abstract

I use birth-certificate data for Spain to document extremely son-biased sex ratios at birth among Indian immigrants. I also show that the children of Indian immigrants display poor health outcomes during infancy, although there is no evidence of a gender gap in infant health. I provide evidence suggesting that the poor outcomes of Indian children at birth can be attributed to the low health endowments of Indian mothers, while the absence of a gender gap is driven by the fact that the parents who would invest less in girls are less likely to carry the pregnancies of girls to term (more likely to practice sex-selective abortion).

Suggested Citation

  • Libertad González Luna, 2016. "Sex selection and health at birth among Indian immigrants," Economics Working Papers 1516, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    • Handle: RePEc:upf:upfgen:1516
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    1. Seema Jayachandran & Rohini Pande, 2015. "Why Are Indian Children So Short?," NBER Working Papers 21036, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Sylvie Dubuc & David Coleman, 2007. "An Increase in the Sex Ratio of Births to India‐born Mothers in England and Wales: Evidence for Sex‐Selective Abortion," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 33(2), pages 383-400, June.
    3. Luojia Hu & Analía Schlosser, 2015. "Prenatal Sex Selection and Girls’ Well‐Being: Evidence from India," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(587), pages 1227-1261, September.
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    5. Bhalotra, Sonia R. & Cochrane, Tom, 2010. "Where Have All the Young Girls Gone? Identification of Sex Selection in India," IZA Discussion Papers 5381, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Oster, Emily, 2009. "Does increased access increase equality? Gender and child health investments in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 62-76, May.
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    8. Ming-Jen Lin & Jin-Tan Liu & Nancy Qian, 2014. "More Missing Women, Fewer Dying Girls: The Impact Of Sex-Selective Abortion On Sex At Birth And Relative Female Mortality In Taiwan," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 899-926, August.
    9. Silvia Helena Barcellos & Leandro S. Carvalho & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2014. "Child Gender and Parental Investments in India: Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 157-189, January.
    10. Aurino, Elisabetta, 2017. "Do boys eat better than girls in India? Longitudinal evidence on dietary diversity and food consumption disparities among children and adolescents," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 99-111.
    11. John Bongaarts & Christophe Z. Guilmoto, 2015. "How Many More Missing Women? Excess Female Mortality and Prenatal Sex Selection, 1970–2050," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 41(2), pages 241-269, June.
    12. Douglas Almond & Lena Edlund & Kevin Milligan, 2013. "Son Preference and the Persistence of Culture: Evidence from South and East Asian Immigrants to Canada," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 39(1), pages 75-95, March.
    13. Ming-Jen Lin & Nancy Qian & Jin-Tan Liu, 2008. "More Women Missing, Fewer Girls Dying: The Impact of Abortion on Sex Ratios at Birth and Excess Female Mortality in Taiwan," NBER Working Papers 14541, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Prashant Bharadwaj & Leah K. Lakdawala, 2013. "Discrimination Begins in the Womb: Evidence of Sex-Selective Prenatal Investments," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(1), pages 71-113.
    15. Anukriti, S & Bhalotra, Sonia R. & Tam, Hiu, 2016. "On the Quantity and Quality of Girls: New Evidence on Abortion, Fertility, and Parental Investments," IZA Discussion Papers 10271, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Jason Abrevaya, 2009. "Are There Missing Girls in the United States? Evidence from Birth Data," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 1-34, April.
    17. Tarozzi, Alessandro, 2008. "Growth reference charts and the nutritional status of Indian children," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 455-468, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    fertility; sex ratio; abortion; sex selection; son preference; infant health; immigration; India; Spain.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development

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