Milazzo, Annamaria2014-06-262014-06-262014-05https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18805Strong boy-bias and its consequences for young and unborn girls have been widely documented for Asia. This paper considers a country in Sub-Saharan Africa and finds that parental gender preferences do affect fertility behavior and shape traditional social institutions with negative effects on adult women's health and well-being. Using individual-level data for Nigeria, the paper shows that, compared to women with first-born sons, women with first-born daughters have (and desire) more children and are less likely to use contraceptives. Women with daughters among earlier-born children are also more likely to have shorter birth intervals, a behavior medically known to increase the risk of child and maternal mortality. Moreover, they are more likely to end up in a polygynous union, to be divorced, and to be head of the household. The preference for sons is also supported by child fostering patterns in which daughters are substitutes for foster girls, while the same does not hold for sons and foster boys. These results can partly explain excess female mortality among adult women in Sub-Saharan Africa.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOADULT MORTALITYADULTSAGEDAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONALLOCATION OF RESOURCESBIOLOGICAL CHILDBIOLOGICAL CHILDRENBIOLOGICAL FATHERSBIRTH SPACINGBREASTFEEDINGCHILD BIRTHCHILD CARECHILD DEATHCHILD HEALTHCHILD LABORCHILD MORTALITYCHILDBIRTHCHILDLESSNESSCOMPLICATIONSCONTRACEPTIVE METHODCONTRACEPTIVE USECONTRACEPTIVESCONTROL OVER RESOURCESCUSTODYCUSTOMARY LAWDECEASED HUSBANDDEMOGRAPHERSDESCENTDEVELOPMENT POLICYDISPARITIES IN HEALTHDIVORCEDOMESTIC CHORESDRINKING WATERDYINGEFFECTS OF GENDEREITHER SEXEQUALITYETHNIC GROUPSEXCESS MORTALITYEXTENDED FAMILYFAMILIESFAMILY HEALTHFAMILY INCOMEFAMILY MEMBERSFAMILY SIZEFAMILY STRUCTUREFAMILY STRUCTURESFAMILY TIESFATHERFATHERSFEMALEFEMALE CHILDRENFEMALE EDUCATIONFEMALE MORTALITYFEMALESFERTILITYFERTILITY BEHAVIORFERTILITY PREFERENCESFERTILITY RATEFETAL GROWTHFEWER CHILDRENFIRST BIRTHFIRST BIRTHSFIRST CHILDFIRST MARRIAGEFIRST PREGNANCYGENDER BIASGENDER DIFFERENCESGENDER DISPARITIESGENDER PREFERENCESGIRL CHILDRENHEALTH CAREHEALTH CARE SERVICESHEALTH FACILITIESHEALTH STATUSHEALTH STATUS OF MOTHERSHIV/AIDSHOUSEHOLD COMPOSITIONHOUSEHOLD LEVELHOUSEHOLD SIZEHUMAN DEVELOPMENTHUSBANDHUSBANDSIMMIGRANTSINFANTINFANT MORTALITYINFANT MORTALITY RATESINFANTICIDEINFERTILITYINHERITANCEINHERITANCE RIGHTSINSURANCEINTERVAL BETWEEN BIRTHSISLAMIC LAWKINSHIPLAND OWNERSHIPLIFETIME RISKLIVE BIRTHSLOWER FERTILITYMALE CONDOMMALE RELATIVESMARITAL STATUSMARRIAGE AGEMARRIAGESMARRIED MENMARRIED WOMENMATERNAL CAREMATERNAL DEATHMATERNAL DEATHSMATERNAL HEALTHMATERNAL HEALTH OUTCOMESMATERNAL MORTALITYMETHOD OF CONTRACEPTIONMODERNIZATIONMOTHERNO MORE CHILDRENNUMBER OF BIRTHSNUMBER OF CHILDRENNUMBER OF DEATHSNUMBER OF GIRLSNUTRITIONAL STATUSOLDER WOMENOPPOSITE SEXORPHANSOWNERSHIP OF LANDPARENTAL INVOLVEMENTPARENTSPILLSPOLICY DISCUSSIONSPOLICY IMPLICATIONSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOLYGYNYPREFERENCE FOR SONSPREGNANCIESPREGNANCYPREGNANT WOMENPROGRESSPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC SERVICESRELIGIOUS PRACTICESREPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIORREPRODUCTIVE GOALREPRODUCTIVE YEARSRESIDENCERESPECTRHYTHM METHODRISK OF DEATHRURAL AREASSCHOOLSSEXSEX OF THE FETUSSEX RATIOSEX RATIOSSEX-SELECTIVE ABORTIONSOCIAL INSTITUTIONSSOCIAL PRESSURESOCIOECONOMIC STATUSSON PREFERENCESPOUSESTRADITIONAL PRACTICEUNEDUCATED WOMENURBAN AREASUSE OF CONTRACEPTIONUSE OF CONTRACEPTIVESWIDOWSWIFEWILLWIVESWOMANWOMEN'S HEALTHYOUNG AGESYOUNGER WOMEN10.1596/1813-9450-6869