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Is there an incipient turnaround in Asia's"missing girls"phenomenon ?

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  • Das Gupta, Monica
  • Chung, Woojin
  • Shuzhuo, Li

Abstract

The apparently inexorable rise in the proportion of"missing girls"in much of East and South Asia has attracted much attention amongst researchers and policy-makers. An encouraging trend was suggested by the case of South Korea, where child sex ratios were the highest in Asia but peaked in the mid-1990s and normalized thereafter. Using census data, we examine whether similar trends have begun to manifest themselves in the two large populous countries of this region, China and India. The data indicate that child sex ratios are peaking in these countries, and in many sub-national regions are beginning to trend towards less masculinization. This suggests that, with continuing vigorous efforts to reduce son preference, the"missing girls"phenomenon could be addressed in Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Das Gupta, Monica & Chung, Woojin & Shuzhuo, Li, 2009. "Is there an incipient turnaround in Asia's"missing girls"phenomenon ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4846, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4846
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ansley Coale & Judith Banister, 1994. "Five decades of missing females in China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 31(3), pages 459-479, August.
    2. Das Gupta, Monica & Li Shuzhuo, 1999. "Gender bias in China, the Republic of Korea, and India 1920-90 - effects of war, famine, and fertility decline," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2140, The World Bank.
    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.
    4. Sinha, Nistha & Yoong, Joanne, 2009. "Long-term financial incentives and investment in daughters : evidence from conditional cash transfers in north India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4860, The World Bank.
    5. Tim Dyson, 2001. "The Preliminary Demography of the 2001 Census of India," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 27(2), pages 341-356, June.
    6. Nistha Sinha & Joanne K. Yoong, 2009. "Long-Term Financial Incentives and Investment in Daughters Evidence From Conditional Cash Transfers In North India," Working Papers WR-667, RAND Corporation.
    7. Sinha, Nistha & Yoong, Joanne, 2009. "Long-term financial incentives and investment in daughters : evidence from conditional cash transfers in north India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4860, The World Bank.
    8. Tae-Il Lee, 2000. "Republic of Korea (South Korea)," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(5), pages 371-383, November.
    9. Das Gupta, Monica & Sunhwa Lee & Uberoi, Patricia & Danning Wang & Lihong Wang & Xiaodan Zhang, 2000. "State policies and women's autonomy in China, India, and the Republic of Korea, 1950-2000 : lessons from contrasting experiences," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2497, The World Bank.
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    Cited by:

    1. Zimmermann, Laura V, 2012. "It's a Boy! Women and Non-Monetary Benefits from a Son in India," IZA Discussion Papers 6847, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Laura Zimmermann, 2012. "It’s a Boy! Women and Non-Monetary Benefits from a Son in India," Working Papers id:5178, eSocialSciences.
    3. Maitreyi Bordia Das & Soumya Kapoor Mehta, 2012. "Poverty and Social Exclusion in India," World Bank Publications - Reports 26338, The World Bank Group.
    4. Zimmermann, Laura, 2018. "It’s a boy! Women and decision-making benefits from a son in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 326-335.
    5. World Bank, 2011. "Poverty and Social Exclusion in India," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2289.
    6. Douglas Almond & Lena Edlund & Kevin Milligan, 2009. "O Sister, Where Art Thou? The Role of Son Preference and Sex Choice: Evidence from Immigrants to Canada," NBER Working Papers 15391, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    Keywords

    Population Policies; Gender and Law; Gender and Health; Adolescent Health; Disease Control&Prevention;
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