Sex-Selective Abortions and Infant Mortality in India: The Role of Parents' Stated Son Preference

Abstract

As a result of the strong desire for sons in India, millions of female fetuses have been aborted over the last three decades alongside an abnormally high mortality rate of infant girls. Given the extent of the problem, a large amount of literature exists on the overall root causes of son preference. Little is known, however, on how the decisions to abort female fetuses or neglect infant girls are made. This paper examines the motivations of mothers and fathers and their respective roles in the decision to sex-selectively abort or neglect girls. It is shown that marriage aligns the level of son preference among spouses as spouse's stated son preference, ceteris paribus, is by far the most significant determinant of stated son preference. However, despite the alignment, some couples express diverging son preference. Using data from the third National Family and Health Survey, we show that while sex-selective abortion services are most commonly used by couples and men preferring sons, sex-selective neglect of infant girls is also used as a strategy by the mothers in order to achieve their desired sex-ratio.

Keywords: sex-selective abortions, infant mortality, son preference, bargaining, India

JEL Classification: J12, J16