Conflicts and son preference: Micro-level evidence from 58 countries show that both incidence and intensity of conflict exposure are associated with greater son preference leading to higher prevalence of sons over daughter

Conflicts and son preference: Micro-level evidence from 58 countries. SrinivasGoliad et al. Economics & Human Biology, Volume 46, August 2022, 101146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2022.101146

Highlights

• This article tests the association between conflict and son preference using a sample of 1.1 million individuals from 58 countries over the period 2003–2018.

• We show that both incidence and intensity of conflict exposure are associated with greater son preference leading to higher prevalence of sons over daughters.

• Macro-data analysis shows that history of conflict exposure plays an important role in explaining the cross-country differences in sex ratios.

Abstract: Research on the association between armed conflict and son preference has largely been based on single-country studies, often presenting descriptive patterns. This paper empirically analyzes the association between conflict and son preference using a sample of more than 1.1 million individuals from 58 countries over the period 2003–2018. We empirically show that both the incidence and intensity of conflict exposure are associated with greater son preference. Moreover, conflict-exposed individuals are likely to realise their preference for sons, as reflected in the systematically higher prevalence of sons over daughters among these individuals. To explore the aggregate effects of these findings, we conduct a cross-country analysis of sex ratios and show that history of conflict exposure plays an important role in explaining the cross-country differences in sex ratios.

Keywords: ConflictSon preferenceSex ratio at birthSex ratio at last birthChild sex ratios