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Gendering the family composition: sex preferences for children and childbearing behavior in the Nordic countries

Author

Listed:
  • Gunnar Andersson

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Karsten Hank

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

  • Marit Rønsen
  • Andres Vikat

    (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany)

Abstract

It has been argued recently that a society’s ‘gender system’ influences parents’ sex preferences for children. If this was true, one should expect to find no evidence of such preferences in countries with a high level of gender equality. In this paper we exploit population register data from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden to examine continuities and changes in parental sex preferences in the Nordic countries during the last three to four decades. First, we cannot observe a visible effect of the sex of the first-born child on second birth risks. Secondly, we detect a distinct preference for at least one child of each sex among parents of two children. Next to this combination preference our analysis reveals, thirdly, that Danish, Norwegian and Swedish parents developed a preference for having a daughter, while Finns exhibit a significant son preference. These findings show that modernization and more equal opportunities for women and men do not necessarily lead to parental gender indifference. On the contrary, they might even result in ‘new’ sex preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Gunnar Andersson & Karsten Hank & Marit Rønsen & Andres Vikat, 2004. "Gendering the family composition: sex preferences for children and childbearing behavior in the Nordic countries," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2004-019, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2004-019
    DOI: 10.4054/MPIDR-WP-2004-019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:cai:poeine:pope_301_0133 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Karsten Hank & Hans-Peter Kohler, 2000. "Gender Preferences for Children in Europe," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 2(1).
    3. Rohini Pande, 2003. "Selective gender differences in childhood nutrition and immunization in rural India: The role of siblings," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(3), pages 395-418, August.
    4. Diana Berinde, 1999. "Pathways to a Third Child in Sweden," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 349-378, December.
    5. Andrew Mason & Neil Bennett, 1977. "Sex selection with biased technologies and its effect on the population sex ratio," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 14(3), pages 285-296, August.
    6. Shelly Lundberg & Elaina Rose, 2003. "Child gender and the transition to marriage," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(2), pages 333-349, May.
    7. Dahl, Gordon B. & Moretti, Enrico, 2004. "The Demand for Sons: Evidence from Divorce, Fertility, and Shotgun Marriage," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt63f8483b, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sehar Ezdi & Ahmet Melik Baş, 2020. "Gender preferences and fertility: Investigating the case of Turkish immigrants in Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(3), pages 59-96.
    2. Elly-Ann Lindström, 2013. "Gender Bias in Parental Leave: Evidence from Sweden," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 235-248, June.
    3. David Alich, 2006. "The third child: a comparison between West Germany and Norway," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2006-001, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Denmark; Finland; Norway; Sweden; sex preference;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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