Gender Preferences in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Fertility Choices

Rossi, Pauline; Rouanet, Léa

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.03.010

Cited by 64 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(63 reference statements)

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“…Our study found that child gender affects the decision to choose a health care provider. Bypassing public PHC services for common childhood illness was more for boys than girls and this could be attributed to the society pediatrics' gender bias, explained by existence of strong sonpreference in Sudan, in line with studies of gender bias and health seeking actions in other African courtiers including Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Nigeria [21][22][23]. Same findings are evident also from several studies from Asia including Nepal, Pakistan and China and Republic of Korea [24][25][26].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Bypassing Primary Health Care Facilities for Common Childhood Illnesses in Sharg-Alneel Locality in Khartoum State, Sudan 2015

Ahmed¹

2017

SJPH

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Abstract:In Sudan despite the current implementation of universal health coverage policy, routine monitoring reports highlight that patients frequently bypass Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities in favor of higher-level hospitals, though hospitals are costly and time consuming. The main objective of this study was to study the extent of bypassing the public PHC facilities and factors associated with the decision of caretakers to bypass such facilities seeking care for their under-five year's children with common illnesses in Sharg-Alneel locality, 2015. The study proposed strategies and interventions to the Sudan government -Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) -to improve PHC service utilization The study was cross-sectional comparative study, interviewer administered questionnaires and facility assessment checklist was used for data collection. The data was analysed using SPSS. The study interviewed 497 caretakers, 87% of them pursued health care for their children directly from secondary hospitals. The main reasons for bypassing the closest public health facilities were unavailability of doctors, lack of health insurance services and higher cost of services. The proportion of bypassing a PHC facility for child care is significantly associated with child sex, child age, presenting symptoms of diarrhea, fever, difficult breathing and severe vomiting, caretakers' occupation as well as the economic status. In a resource limited country, health policy to achieve universal health coverage is better to focus on quality of care as well as quantity. Community mobilization and interventions to improve access and utilization of quality PHC services are all recommended. Furthermore, more research on bypassing behaviour is also recommended.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Bypassing Primary Health Care Facilities for Common Childhood Illnesses in Sharg-Alneel Locality in Khartoum State, Sudan 2015

Ahmed¹

2017

SJPH

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“…Again, there is a value in using a measure at the individual level rather than alternatives such as desired sex ratio at birth, which can be measured at the population level (for a discussion of desired sex ratios, see Bongaarts (2013)). For example, take the commonly found preference among parents across a variety of societies and fertility levels for at least one child of each gender (Andersson et al 2006;Arnold 1992;Rossi & Rouanet 2015). If such a preference remains unchanged through the fertility transition, the desired sex ratio will not change, but the number of children who can be of either gender (N m ) will diminish, and the target will be increasingly difficult to meet within the desired family size.…”

Section: Issues Of Validitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Differential Mortality of Undesired Infants in Sub-Saharan Africa

Flatø

2018

Demography

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With high rates of infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, investments in infant health are subject to tough prioritizations within the household, in which maternal preferences may play a part. How these preferences will affect infant mortality as African women have ever-lower fertility is still uncertain, as increased female empowerment and increased difficulty in achieving a desired gender composition within a smaller family pull in potentially different directions. I study how being born at a parity or of a gender undesired by the mother relates to infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and how such differential mortality varies between women at different stages of the demographic transition. Using data from 79 Demographic and Health Surveys, I find that a child being undesired according to the mother is associated with a differential mortality that is not due to constant maternal factors, family composition, or factors that are correlated with maternal preferences and vary continuously across siblings. As a share of overall infant mortality, the excess mortality of undesired children amounts to 3.3 % of male and 4 % of female infant mortality. Undesiredness can explain a larger share of infant mortality among mothers with lower fertility desires and a larger share of female than male infant mortality for children of women who desire 1-3 children. Undesired gender composition is more important for infant mortality than undesired childbearing and may also lead couples to increase family size beyond the maternal desire, in which case infants of the surplus gender are particularly vulnerable.

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“…We consider four possible scenario: First, as mentioned by (Rossi & Rouanet, 2015), if mothers exhibiting specific gender preferences are more likely to die, surviving women would be selected which would underestimate the role of son preference. This bias could be handled by focusing on the subsample of younger women.…”

Section: Selection By Wealth Woman's Education and Age And Family Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Have a Son, Gain a Voice: Son Preference and Female Participation in Household Decision Making

Javed

Mughal

2018

The Journal of Development Studies

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June 2017. We are grateful to Lionel de Boisdeffre in drawing the conceptual layout and to Charlotte Fontan Sers for her French translation of the abstract. Abstract:Son preference is common in many Asian countries. Though a growing body of literature examines the drivers and socioeconomic impacts of phenomenon in case of China and India, work on other Asian countries is scarce. This study uses nationally representative survey of over 13 thousand households from Pakistan (PDHS 2012-13) to analyze the effects of observed preference for sons on women's participation in intra-household decision-making.Four key intra-household decisions are considered: decisions regarding healthcare, family visits, large household purchases and spending husband's income. These correspond to four categories of household decisions, namely healthcare, social, consumption and financial.Probit and Ordered Probit are employed as the main estimation techniques and other determinants of household decision-making are controlled for. Besides, a number of matching routines are employed to account for the possibility of potential selection bias.We find that women with at least one son have more say in household decisions. Bearing at least one son is associated with 5%, 7% and 5% higher say in decisions involving healthcare, social and consumption matters respectively. Women's role in financial affairs, however,

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Gender Preferences in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Fertility Choices

Cited by 64 publications

References 58 publications

Bypassing Primary Health Care Facilities for Common Childhood Illnesses in Sharg-Alneel Locality in Khartoum State, Sudan 2015

Bypassing Primary Health Care Facilities for Common Childhood Illnesses in Sharg-Alneel Locality in Khartoum State, Sudan 2015

The Differential Mortality of Undesired Infants in Sub-Saharan Africa

Have a Son, Gain a Voice: Son Preference and Female Participation in Household Decision Making

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