Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T08:13:00.945Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does the prenatal factor or the postnatal factor contribute more to changes in the child sex ratio in India? An investigation in the context of fertility and mortality transition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2021

Ajit Kumar Yadav Open the ORCID record for Ajit Kumar Yadav [Opens in a new window] ,
Faujdar Ram ,
Akansha Singh  and
Chander Shekhar
Ajit Kumar Yadav*
Affiliation:
Gender Equity and Health Project, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India
Faujdar Ram
Affiliation:
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India
Akansha Singh
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Durham Research Methods Centre, Durham University, Durham, UK
Chander Shekhar
Affiliation:
Department of Fertility Studies, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There has been a drastic decline in the child sex ratio (number of females per 1000 males between ages 0 and 4) in India and many of its states. This study aimed to examine if prenatal factors, such as change in sex ratio at birth, or postnatal factors, such as change in relative mortality of females and males, contribute to this more by analysing the dynamics of the child sex ratio. Changes in the child sex ratio during 2001–2011 were decomposed into a ‘fertility’ component attributable to prenatal sex selection and a ‘mortality’ component attributable to sex differentials in postnatal survival at the country as well as the state level. Between the prenatal factor and the postnatal factor, the contribution of the latter to the declining child sex ratio has been greater than the former in India as a whole and in most of the states. By focusing on both prenatal and postnatal factors, the imbalance in the child sex ratio in the country can be reduced to a large extent.

Keywords

Child sex ratioPrenatal factorPostnatal factor
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 54 , Issue 3 , May 2022 , pp. 473 - 481
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alkema, L, Chao, F, You, D, Pedersen, J and Sawyer, CC (2014) National, regional, and global sex ratios of infant, child, and under-5 mortality and identification of countries with outlying ratios: a systematic assessment. The Lancet Global Health 2(9), e521–e530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arokiasamy, P and Goli, S (2012) Fertility convergence in the Indian states: an assessment of changes in averages and inequalities in fertility. Genus LXVIII (1), 65–85.Google Scholar
Barcellos, S, Carvalho, L and Lleras-Muney, A (2014) Child gender and parental investments in India: are boys and girls treated differently? American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 6(1), 157–189.Google ScholarPubMed
Basu, AM (1999) Fertility decline and increasing gender imbalance in India, including a possible South Indian turnaround. Development and Change 30(2), 237–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Behrman, JR (1988) Intrahousehold allocation of nutrients in rural India: are boys favored? Do parents exhibit inequality aversion? Oxford Economic Papers 40(1), 32–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borooah, VK (2004) Gender bias among children in India in their diet and immunization against disease. Social Science & Medicine 58(9), 1719–1731.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buvinic, S, Bravo-Zehnder, M, Boyer, JL, Huidobro-Toro, JP and González, A (2007) Nucleotide P2Y1 receptor regulates EGF receptor mitogenic signalling and expression in epithelial cells. Journal of Cell Science 120(24), 4289–4301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chao, F, Guilmoto, CZ, Samir, KC and Ombao, H (2020) Probabilistic projection of the sex ratio at birth and missing female births by State and Union Territory in India. PLoS One 15(8), e0236673.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Das Gupta, M and Mari Bhat, PN (1997) Fertility decline and increased manifestation of sex bias in India. Population Studies 51(3), 307–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guillot, M (2002) The dynamics of the population sex ratio in India, 1971–96. Population Studies 56(1), 51–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jha, P, Kesler, MA, Kumar, R, Ram, F, Ram, U, Aleksandrowicz, L and Banthia, JK (2011) Trends in selective abortions of girls in India: analysis of nationally representative birth histories from 1990 to 2005 and census data from 1991 to 2011. The Lancet 377(9781), 1921–1928.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jensen, R and Oster, E (2009) The power of TV: cable television and women’s status in India. Quarterly Journal of Economics 124(3), 1057–1094.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kashyap, R (2018) Is prenatal sex selection associated with lower female child mortality? Population Studies 73(1), 57–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ORG and Census Commissioner (2001) Census of India, 2001. Office of the Registrar General, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi.Google Scholar
ORG and Census Commissioner (2011) Census of India, 2011. Office of the Registrar General, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi.Google Scholar
Pande, RP (2003) Selective gender differences in childhood nutrition and immunization in rural India: the role of siblings. Demography 40(3), 395–418.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pande, RP and Astone, NM (2007). Explaining son preference in rural India: the independent role of structural versus individual factors. Population Research and Policy Review 26(1), 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Premi, MK (2001) The missing girl child. Economic and Political Weekly 36(21), 1875–1880.Google Scholar
Ram, U and Ram, F (2018) To be born and to be alive: the struggle of girl children in sub regions of India. The Lancet Global Health 6, e594–e595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenblum, D (2013) The effect of fertility decisions on excess female mortality in India. Journal of Population Economics 26(1), 147–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenzweig, MR and Schultz, TP (1982) Market opportunities, genetic endowments, and intrafamily resource distribution: child survival in rural India. American Economic Review 72(4), 803–815.Google Scholar
Sengupta, M and Agree, EM (2002) Gender and disability among older adults in North and South India: differences associated with coresidence and marriage. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology 17(4), 313–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Srinivasan, S (2005) Daughters or dowries? The changing nature of dowry practices in South India. World Development 33(4), 593–615.Google Scholar
UNFPA (2015) How many girls are missing at birth in India? Trends in sex ratio at birth (2001–12). UNFPA-India, New Delhi. URL: http://asiapacific.unfpa.org/publications/how-many-girls-are-missing-birth-india-trends-sex-ratio-birth-2001-12 (accessed 27th July 2020).Google Scholar