Did the Great Recession affect sex ratios at birth for groups with a son preference?

Lee, Soohyung; Orsini, Chiara

doi:10.1016/j.econlet.2017.02.014

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…5 See Chung and Das Gupta (2007) and Section 2.3 for details regarding the son preference in South Korea. In another paper, we examine the impact of the Great Recession on gender composition at birth for Asian populations in the USA (see Lee & Orsini, 2017). Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, we find that the share of boys among Chinese Americans increased during the Recession.…”

Section: The 1997 Financial Crisis In South Koreamentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Without a strong assumption about individuals' beliefs, for babies conceived after the onset of the crisis, researchers cannot distinguish unexpected economic shocks from expected economic conditions, which is crucial for identification.5 SeeChung and Das Gupta (2007) and Section 2.3 for details regarding the son preference in South Korea. In another paper, we examine the impact of the Great Recession on gender composition at birth for Asian populations in the USA (seeLee & Orsini, 2017). Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, we find that the share of boys among Chinese Americans increased during the Recession.…”

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confidence: 96%

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Girls and boys: Economic crisis, fertility, and birth outcomes

Lee

Orsini

2018

J of Applied Econometrics

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We investigate the impact of an economic downturn on natality and birth weight for newborns when parents prefer sons. We examine South Korea, unexpectedly hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1997. For identification, we exploit regional and time variation in the crisis, focusing on women who were already pregnant when the downturn began. We find that the number of girls would have been 2% higher absent the crisis and that birth outcomes for girls were no better than those for boys-findings that differ from the Trivers-Willard Hypothesis. This relative disadvantage of girls is more severe among newborns who have at least two older siblings.

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