Affiliation:
1. Department of Economics, University College London, Gower St., London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Abstract
We model the equilibrium sex ratio when parents can choose the sex of their child. With intrinsic son preference, sex selection results in a male-biased sex ratio. This is inefficient due to a marriage market congestion externality. Medical innovations that facilitate selection aggravate the inefficiency. If son preference arises endogenously, due to population growth causing an excess supply of women on the marriage market, selection may improve welfare. Empirically, sex selection causes an excess of males and reduces welfare in China. In most parts of India, cohort sizes are growing, implying an excess supply of women. (JEL J12, J13, J16, O15, P23)
Publisher
American Economic Association
Subject
General Economics, Econometrics and Finance
Cited by
39 articles.
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