Son preference and sex composition of children: Evidence from India

Although the effect of son preference on sex composition of children ever b orn is undetectable in national-level estimates that aggregate across all f amilies, this article provides empirical evidence from India that son prefe rence has two pronounced and predictable family-level effects on the sex co mposition of children ever born. First, data from India show that smaller f amilies have a significantly higher proportion of sons than larger families . Second, socially and economically disadvantaged couples and couples from the northern region of India not only want but also attain a higher proport ion of sons, if the effects of family size are controlled.