IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/indgen/v20y2013i1p51-68.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changing Gender Preference in China Today: Implications for the Sex Ratio

Author

Listed:
  • Zhou Chi

    (Zhou Chi is at the Institute of Social and Family Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. E-mail: zhouchi@zju.edu.cn)

  • Zhou Xu Dong

    (Zhou Xu Dong is at the Institute of Social and Family Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. E-mail: zhouzudong@zju.edu.cn)

  • Wang Xiao Lei

    (Wang Xiao Lei is at the Institute of Social and Family Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China and is also at the College of Nursing, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310036, China. E-mail: wxlwmm@126.com)

  • Zheng Wei Jun

    (Zheng Wei Jun is at the Institute of Social and Family Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. E-mail: deardangjun@160.com)

  • Li Lu

    (Li Lu is at the Institute of Social and Family Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. E-mail: lilu@zju.edu.cn)

  • Therese Hesketh

Abstract

There is growing evidence in China that son preference is on the decline. But sex ratios at birth, despite a recent small reduction, are still the highest in the world at around 120 male births to every 100 females. We carried out this research to explore current attitudes towards gender preference amongst people of reproductive age in China today, with a view to understanding better the persistently high sex ratio. We conducted in-depth interviews with 212 individuals, aged 18 to 39, in rural and urban areas of three provinces—Yunnan, Guizhou and Zhejiang—and have shown that while son preference has weakened considerably in this reproductive generation, it has by no means disappeared. The sex ratio remains high because of this small minority of individuals who still expresses a clear son preference and who choose sex-selective abortion to ensure male offspring. But its numbers are falling, and this may help to explain the recent downturn in sex ratio and perhaps signals the beginning of a trend towards its normalisation. Intensive local policy interventions have been successful in reducing the sex ratio in some areas and these should be disseminated widely.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou Chi & Zhou Xu Dong & Wang Xiao Lei & Zheng Wei Jun & Li Lu & Therese Hesketh, 2013. "Changing Gender Preference in China Today: Implications for the Sex Ratio," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 20(1), pages 51-68, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:indgen:v:20:y:2013:i:1:p:51-68
    DOI: 10.1177/0971521512465936
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0971521512465936
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0971521512465936?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Monica Das Gupta & Jiang Zhenghua & Li Bohua & Xie Zhenming & Woojin Chung & Bae Hwa-Ok, 2003. "Why is Son preference so persistent in East and South Asia? a cross-country study of China, India and the Republic of Korea," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 153-187.
    2. Tin-chi Lin, 2009. "The decline of son preference and rise of gender indifference in Taiwan since 1990," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 20(16), pages 377-402.
    3. Woojin Chung & Monica Das Gupta, 2007. "The Decline of Son Preference in South Korea: The Roles of Development and Public Policy," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 33(4), pages 757-783, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chi Zhou & Xiao Wang & Xu Zhou & Therese Hesketh, 2012. "Son preference and sex-selective abortion in China: informing policy options," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 57(3), pages 459-465, June.
    2. Christophe Z. Guilmoto, 2009. "The Sex Ratio Transition in Asia," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(3), pages 519-549, September.
    3. Lee, Chioun & Glei, Dana A. & Weinstein, Maxine & Goldman, Noreen, 2014. "Death of a child and parental wellbeing in old age: Evidence from Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 166-173.
    4. Tin-chi Lin & Alícia Adserà, 2013. "Son Preference and Children’s Housework: The Case of India," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 32(4), pages 553-584, August.
    5. Qianqian Shang & Quanbao Jiang & Yongkun Yin, 2022. "How Does Children's Sex Affect Parental Sex Preference: Preference Adaptation and Learning," Working Papers wp2022_2202, CEMFI.
    6. Yukawa Shiho, 2015. "Effects of Fatherhood on Male Wage and Labor Supply in Japan," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 437-474, April.
    7. Giyeon Seo & Tanya Koropeckyj‐Cox & Sanghag Kim, 2022. "Correlates of Contemporary Gender Preference for Children in South Korea," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(1), pages 161-188, March.
    8. Valentine Becquet & Nicolás Sacco & Ignacio Pardo, 2022. "Disparities in Gender Preference and Fertility: Southeast Asia and Latin America in a Comparative Perspective," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 1295-1323, June.
    9. Lena Edlund & Chulhee Lee, 2013. "Son Preference, Sex Selection and Economic Development: The Case of South Korea," NBER Working Papers 18679, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Ashwini Deshpande & Apoorva Gupta, 2019. "Nakusha? Son Preference, Resource Concentration and Gender Gaps in Education," Working Papers 1020, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    11. Goli, Srinivas & Arora, Somya & Jain, Neha & Shekher, T V, 2022. "Patrilocality and Child Sex Ratios in India," MPRA Paper 111905, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Prabir C. Bhattacharya, 2012. "Gender Inequality and the Sex Ratio in Three Emerging Economies," Heriot-Watt University Economics Discussion Papers 1201, Department of Economics, School of Management and Languages, Heriot Watt University.
    13. Tien Vu, 2014. "One male offspring preference: evidence from Vietnam using a split-population model," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 689-715, December.
    14. Dong, Yongqing & Bai, Yunli & Wang, Weidong & Luo, Renfu & Liu, Chengfang & Zhang, Linxiu, 2020. "Does gender matter for the intergenerational transmission of education? Evidence from rural China," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    15. Asadullah, M. Niaz & Mansoor, Nazia & Randazzo, Teresa & Wahhaj, Zaki, 2021. "Is son preference disappearing from Bangladesh?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    16. Monica Das Gupta & Woojin Chung & Li Shuzhuo, 2009. "Evidence for an Incipient Decline in Numbers of Missing Girls in China and India," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(2), pages 401-416, June.
    17. Goli, Srinivas & Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Rammohan, Anu & Vu, Loan, 2022. "Conflicts and son preference: Micro-level evidence from 58 countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    18. Woojin Chung & Roeul Kim, 2020. "Which Occupation is Highly Associated with Cognitive Impairment? A Gender-Specific Longitudinal Study of Paid and Unpaid Occupations in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-17, October.
    19. John Bongaarts, 2013. "The Implementation of Preferences for Male Offspring," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 39(2), pages 185-208, June.
    20. Hoque Nazmul & Boulier Bryan L., 2020. "Hi-tech Sexism? Evidence from Bangladesh," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(3), pages 1-39, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:indgen:v:20:y:2013:i:1:p:51-68. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.