ETHNIC-DIFFERENCES IN FERTILITY AND SEX-RATIOS AT BIRTH IN CHINA - EVIDENCE FROM XINJIANG

This study uses data from the 1990 Census of China for Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to examine phenomena that, to date, have been exami ned primarily at the national level: fertility and sex ratios at birth of women who already have at least one surviving child. Comparing dat a for Uighurs, Kazakhs, Hui, and Han, it finds enormous differences in fertility between the nationalities in the presence of high levels of fertility control. Also, for all four nationalities the extent of fer tility control is dependent on the sex of surviving children. Women wh o had no previous sons, or who had many daughters, were likely to cont inue to try to have children even at ages and parities past which they would normally have stopped childbearing. Finally, disproportionately feminine sex ratios at birth are found for couples who have had sever al sons and no daughters. Hence, researchers interested in the questio n of unusual sex ratios at birth in China need to account for 'missing boys' as well as 'missing girls'.