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Identifying Gender Bias in Parental Attitude: An Experimental Approach

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  • Lutfunnahar Begum
  • Philip J. Grossman
  • Asadul Islam

Abstract

Using experimental techniques, we identify parental attitudes toward different-gendered children in rural Bangladesh. We randomly selected households that had at least two school-age children (6–18 years) of different genders. Parents, either jointly or individually, were given endowments to allocate, freely or restricted, for the benefit of anonymous girls or boys at a nearby school. The results suggest that: 1) there is no systematic inherent bias in parental attitudes toward children of a specific gender; 2) neither parent is systematically biased; 3) there are no significant differences in parents’ behavior; and 4) tests suggest that subjects revealed their true preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Lutfunnahar Begum & Philip J. Grossman & Asadul Islam, 2014. "Identifying Gender Bias in Parental Attitude: An Experimental Approach," Monash Economics Working Papers 32-14, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:mos:moswps:2014-32
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    File URL: http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/eco/research/papers/2014/3214genderbegumgrossmanislam.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lutfunnahar Begum & Philip J. Grossman & Asadul Islam, 2014. "Parental Attitude and Investment in Children’s Education and Health in Developing Countries," Monash Economics Working Papers 30-14, Monash University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Household behavior; Gender bias; Children; Field experiment; Bangladesh;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation

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