Publication: Wealth, Marriage, and Sex Selection
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Date
2025-06-17
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2025-06-17
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Abstract
Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain sex selection in India: son preference in which parents desire a male heir and daughter aversion in which dowry payments make parents worse off with girls. Our model incorporates both mechanisms, providing micro-foundations, based on the organization of the marriage institution, for daughter aversion. Marital matching, sex selection, and dowries are jointly determined in the model, whose implications are tested on a representative sample of rural households. Simulations of the model indicate that existing policies targeting daughter aversion might exacerbate the problem, while identifying other policies that could be effective.
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“Borker, Girija; Eeckhout, Jan; Luke, Nancy; Minz, Shantidani; Munshi, Kaivan; Swaminathan, Soumya. 2025. Wealth, Marriage, and Sex Selection. Policy Research Working Paper; 11147. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43345 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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