CHINESE LUNAR BIRTH TIMING IN SINGAPORE - NEW CONCERNS FOR CHILD QUALITY AMIDST MULTICULTURAL MODERNITY

In line with traditional folk beliefs, many Chinese societies througho ut the world (with the exception of China itself) began in the 1970s a nd 1980s to exhibit birth fluctuations during significant lunar zodiac years-baby booms during the auspicious Year of Dragon and baby busts during the inauspicious (for daughters) Year of the Tiger. This articl e explores these two inverse natural experiments in multiethnic Singap ore. Lunar birth timing has been manifested more strongly as family si zes have declined, a reversal of modernization theory, yet consistent with enhanced concerns for child quality. The social, assimilative, an d gender-related dynamics of the these preferences are illustrated thr ough an analysis of the seasonality and birth order distribution of lu nar birth fluctuations as well as birth patterns among intermarried Ch inese mothers and fathers. The article details how lunar birth fluctua tions have been influenced by and have influenced official policies in stituted by Singapore's shrinking Chinese majority. None of the assimi lative social forces discussed here can be expected to weaken lunar bi rth timing in the future, although government intervention may inhibit its reoccurrence.