Abstract
This article investigates the possible existence of a nonlinear link between female disadvantage in natality and education. To this end, we devise a theoretical model based on the key role of social interaction in explaining people’s acquisition of preferences, which justifies the existence of a nonmonotonic relationship between female disadvantage in natality and education. The empirical validity of the proposed model is examined for the case of India, using district-level data. In this context, our econometric analysis pays particular attention to the role of spatial dependence to avoid any potential problems of misspecification. The results confirm that the relationship between the sex ratio at birth and education in India follows an inverted U-shape. This finding is robust to the inclusion of additional explanatory variables in the analysis, and to the choice of the spatial weight matrix used to quantify the spatial interdependence between the sample districts.
Ordinary Little Square, Literacy Rate, Female Labor Force Participation, Spatial Weight Matrix, National Family Health Survey
The text of this article is only available as a PDF.
References
Anselin, L. (
1988
). Lagrange Multiplier Test Diagnostics for Spatial Dependence and Spatial Heterogeneity
. Geographical Analysis
, 20
, 1
–17
. 10.1111/j.1538-4632.1988.tb00159.xAnselin, L. (
1988
). Spatial Econometrics: Methods and Models
. Dordrecht
: Kluwer Academic
.Anselin, L. (
2001
). Spatial Econometrics
. In Baltagi, B. (Ed.), Companion to Theoretical Econometrics
(pp. 357
–96
). Oxford
: Basil Blackwell
.Anselin, L., Bera, A., Florax, R., & Yoon, M. (
1996
). Simple Diagnostic Tests for Spatial Dependence
. Regional Science and Urban Economics
, 26
, 77
–104
. 10.1016/0166-0462(95)02111-6Anselin, L., & Rey, S. (
1991
). Properties of Tests for Spatial Dependence in Linear Regression Models
. Geographical Analysis
, 23
, 110
–31
.Arnold, F., Kishor, S., & Roy, T.K. (
2002
). Sex-Selective Abortion in India
. Population and Development Review
, 28
, 759
–85
. 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2002.00759.xBhat, P.N.M. (
1995
). On the Quality of Birth History Data Collected in National Family Health Survey, 1992–93
. Demography India
, 24
, 245
–58
.Bhat, P.N.M. (
2002
). On the Trail of ‘Missing’ Indian Females. II: Illusion and Reality
. Economic and Political Weekly
, 21
, 5244
–63
.Bhat, P.N.M., & Zavier, A.J.F. (
2003
). Fertility Decline and Gender Bias in Northern India
. Demography
, 40
, 637
–57
. 10.2307/1515201Bhattacharya, P.C. (
2006
). Economic Development, Gender Inequality, and Demographic Outcomes: Evidence From India
. Population and Development Review
, 32
, 263
–91
. 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2006.00118.xBose, S., & Trent, K. (
2005
). Socio-Demographic Determinants of Abortion in India: A North-South Comparison
. Journal of Biosocial Science
, 38
, 261
–82
. 10.1017/S0021932005026271Bowles, S. (
1998
). Endogenous Preferences: the Cultural Consequences of Markets and Other Economic Institutions
. Journal of Economic Literature
, 36
, 75
–111
.Bowles, S. (
2004
). Institutional and Individual Evolution
. In Bowles, S. (Ed.), Microeconomics: Behavior, Institutions, and Evolution
(pp. 365
–40
). Princeton, NJ
: Princeton University Press
.Boyd, R., & Richerson, P.J. (
1985
). Culture and the Evolutionary Process
. Chicago
: University of Chicago Press
.Burridge, P. (
1980
). On the Cliff-Ord Test for Spatial Autocorrelation
. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B
, 42
, 107
–108
.Castelló-Climent, A. (
2008
). On the Distribution of Education and Democracy
. Journal of Development Economics
, 87
, 179
–90
. 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2007.10.006Chakraborty, L.S. and D. Sinha. 2006. “Determinants of Declining Child Sex Ratio in India: An Empirical Investigation.” MPRA Paper 7602. University of Munich.
Clark, S. (
2000
). Son Preference and Sex Composition of Children: Evidence From India
. Demography
, 37
, 95
–108
. 10.2307/2648099Cleveland, W.S. (
1979
). Robust Locally Weighted Regression and Smoothing Scatterplots
. Journal of the American Statistical Association
, 74
, 829
–36
. 10.2307/2286407Cliff, A., & Ord, J. (
1972
). Testing for Spatial Autocorrelation Among Regression Residuals
. Geographical Analysis
, 4
, 267
–84
. 10.1111/j.1538-4632.1972.tb00475.xDas, J., & Hammer, J. (
2007
). Money for Nothing: The Dire Straits of Medical Practice in Delhi, India
. Journal of Development Economics
, 83
, 1
–36
. 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2006.05.004Das Gupta, M. (
1987
). Selective Discrimination Against Female Children in Rural Punjab, India
. Population and Development Review
, 13
, 77
–100
. 10.2307/1972121Dee, T.S. (
2004
). Are There Civic Returns to Education?
. Journal of Public Economics
, 88
, 1697
–720
. 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2003.11.002Dharmalingam, A., & Morgan, S.P. (
2004
). Pervasive Muslim-Hindu Fertility Differences in India
. Demography
, 44
, 529
–45
. 10.1353/dem.2004.0020Drèze, J., & Sen, A.K. (
1989
). Hunger and Public Action
. New York
: Oxford University Press
.Drèze, J., & Sen, A.K. (
2002
). India: Development and Participation
. New York
: Oxford University Press
.Dyson, T., & Moore, M. (
1983
). On Kinship Structure, Female Autonomy, and Demographic Behavior in India
. Population and Development Review
, 9
, 35
–60
. 10.2307/1972894Edlund, L. (
1999
). Son Preference, Sex Ratios, and Marriage Patterns
. Journal of Political Economy
, 107
, 1275
–304
. 10.1086/250097Goodall, C. (
1990
). A Survey of Smoothing Techniques
. In Fox, J., & Long, J.S. (Eds.), Modern Methods of Data Analysis
(pp. 126
–76
). Newbury Park, CA
: Sage
.Goodkind, D. (
1996
). On Substituting Son Preference Strategies in East Asia: Does Prenatal Sex Selection Reduce Postnatal Discrimination?
. Population and Development Review
, 22
, 111
–25
. 10.2307/2137689Goodkind, D. (
1999
). Should Prenatal Sex Selection be Restricted? Ethical Questions and Their Implications for Research and Policy
. Population Studies
, 53
, 49
–61
. 10.1080/00324720308069Griffiths, P., Matthews, Z., & Hinde, A. (
2000
). Understanding the Sex Ratio in India: A Simulation Approach
. Demography
, 37
, 477
–88
. 10.1353/dem.2000.0004Johansson, S., & Nygren, O. (
1991
). The Missing Girls of China: A New Demographic Account
. Population and Development Review
, 17
, 35
–51
. 10.2307/1972351Kim, J. (
2005
). Sex Selection and Fertility in a Dynamic Model of Conception and Abortion
. Journal of Population Economics
, 18
, 41
–67
. 10.1007/s00148-004-0195-0Kishor, S. (
1993
). ‘May God Give Sons to All’: Gender and Child Mortality in India
. American Sociological Review
, 58
, 247
–65
. 10.2307/2095969Luke, N., & Munshi, K. (
2007
). Social Affiliation and the Demand for Health Services: Caste and Child Health in South India
. Journal of Development Economics
, 83
, 256
–79
. 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2006.07.005Manski, C.F. (
1993
). Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The Reflection Problem
. Review of Economic Studies
, 60
, 531
–42
. 10.2307/2298123Miller, B. (
1981
). The Endangered Sex: Neglect of Female Children in Rural North India
. Ithaca, NY
: Cornell University Press
.Mitra, A. (
2008
). The Status of Women Among the Scheduled Tribes in India
. Journal of Socio-Economics
, 37
, 1202
–17
. 10.1016/j.socec.2006.12.077Murthi, M., Guio, A.C., & Drèze, J. (
1995
). Mortality, Fertility and Gender Bias in India: A District-Level Analysis
. Population and Development Review
, 21
, 745
–82
. 10.2307/2137773Park, C.B., & Cho, N.H. (
1995
). Consequences of Son Preference in a Low-Fertility Society: Imbalance of the Sex Ratio at Birth in Korea
. Population and Development Review
, 21
, 59
–84
. 10.2307/2137413Report of the Task Force: Identification of Districts for Wage and Self Employment Programmes
. (2003
). New Delhi
: Planning Commission of India
.Rahman, L., & Rao, V. (
2004
). The Determinants of Gender Equity in India: Examining Dyson and Moore’s Thesis With New Data
. Population and Development Review
, 30
, 239
–68
. 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2004.012_1.xPrimary Census Abstract (PCA) of 1991
India Census 1991 (District-Level)
. (1991
). New Delhi
: Office of the Registrar General
.District-Level Estimates of Fertility and Child Mortality for 1991 and Their Interrelations With Other Variables
India Census 1991
. (1997
). New Delhi
: Office of the Registrar General
.Availability of Infrastructural Facilities in Rural Areas of India: An Analysis of Village Directory Data
. (1998
). New Delhi
: Office of the Registrar General
.Rosenzweig, M.R., & Schultz, T.P. (
1982
). Market Opportunities, Genetic Endowments, and Intrafamily Resource Distribution: Child Survival in Rural India
. American Economic Review
, 72
, 803
–15
.Sen, A.K. (
1984
). Well-being, Agency and Freedom (1984 The Dewey Lectures)
. Journal of Philosophy
, 82
, 169
–221
. 10.2307/2026184Sudha, S., & Irudaya Rajan, S. (
1999
). Female Demographic Disadvantage in India 1981–1991: Sex Selective Abortions and Female Infanticide
. Development and Change
, 30
, 585
–618
. 10.1111/1467-7660.00130Swamy, V.S. (
1995
). Age Pattern and Current Fertility From National Family Health Survey vis-à-vis Sample Registration System
. Demography India
, 24
, 195
–209
.Manual X: Indirect Techniques for Demographic Estimation
. (1983
). New York
: United Nations, Department of International Economic and Social Affairs
.Visaria, P. 1971. “The Sex Ratio of the Population of India.” Census of India 1961. Monograph No. 10. Manager of Publications, Delhi.
Waldron, I. (
1985
). What Do We Know About Causes of Sex Differences in Mortality? A Review of the Literature
. Population Bulletin of the United Nations
, 18
, 59
–76
.White, H.L. (
1980
). A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix
. Econometrica
, 48
, 817
–38
. 10.2307/1912934White, H.L. (
1982
). Maximum Likelihood Estimation of Misspecified Models
. Econometrica
, 50
, 1
–26
. 10.2307/1912526Zeng, Y., Ping, T., Baochang, G., Yi, X., Bohaua, L., & Yongping, L. (
1993
). Causes and Implications of the Recent Increase in the Reported Sex Ratio at Birth in China
. Population and Development Review
, 19
, 283
–302
. 10.2307/2938438© Population Association of America 2010
2010
