Table 2

Predicted infant sex ratios at third parity by maternal race/ethnicity and education

Infant Male:Female Ratio
Variable(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
African American −0.019** −0.052 0.008 −0.114 0.091 
 (0.006) (0.033) (0.090) (0.072) (0.159) 
American Indian −0.015 −0.030 −0.015 −0.075 −0.021 
 (0.008) (0.019) (0.032) (0.044) (0.075) 
Chinese 0.132** 0.122** −0.026 0.059 0.348 
 (0.019) (0.036) (0.154) (0.067) (0.303) 
Asian Indian 0.123** 0.114** −0.054 0.111 0.343 
 (0.019) (0.044) (0.156) (0.074) (0.316) 
Korean 0.128* 0.118* −0.112 0.019 0.198 
 (0.051) (0.059) (0.158) (0.084) (0.285) 
Japanese 0.096** 0.092* −0.033 0.035 0.111 
 (0.031) (0.038) (0.118) (0.070) (0.181) 
Filipino 0.035* 0.028 −0.063 −0.030 0.298 
 (0.015) (0.021) (0.168) (0.074) (0.316) 
Vietnamese −0.018 −0.037 −0.169 −0.076 0.252 
 (0.016) (0.035) (0.177) (0.052) (0.324) 
Mother Has Any College Education 0.007 0.010 0.010 0.012 0.014 
 (0.006) (0.017) (0.016) (0.016) (0.016) 
African American × Mom Any College −0.007 0.006 0.009 0.008 0.017 
 (0.010) (0.016) (0.018) (0.017) (0.023) 
American Indian × Mom Any College −0.002 0.000 0.002 0.002 0.007 
 (0.019) (0.019) (0.020) (0.020) (0.024) 
Chinese × Mom Any College −0.074** −0.078** −0.077** −0.079** −0.072* 
 (0.026) (0.029) (0.029) (0.030) (0.033) 
Asian Indian × Mom Any College −0.031 −0.027 −0.024 −0.027 −0.022 
 (0.026) (0.027) (0.027) (0.027) (0.038) 
Korean × Mom Any College −0.114* −0.107 −0.103 −0.105* −0.103 
 (0.053) (0.055) (0.054) (0.054) (0.057) 
Japanese × Mom Any College −0.096** −0.099** −0.101** −0.099** −0.105** 
 (0.035) (0.038) (0.039) (0.039) (0.041) 
Filipino × Mom Any College −0.005 −0.007 −0.006 −0.007 −0.004 
 (0.019) (0.020) (0.021) (0.020) (0.021) 
Vietnamese × Mom Any College 0.066** 0.075* 0.080** 0.076* 0.091** 
 (0.025) (0.029) (0.030) (0.030) (0.032) 
Constant 1.046** 0.721 0.053 0.039 −0.232 
 (0.044) (2.799) (2.587) (2.803) (2.707) 
Observations 1,523 1,523 1,523 1,523 1,523 
R2 .120 .122 .130 .128 .137 
Race/Ethnicity, Education, and Year Indicators 
Controls for Parental Characteristics  
Controls for Cultural Measures    
Controls for Economic Measures    
Infant Male:Female Ratio
Variable(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
African American −0.019** −0.052 0.008 −0.114 0.091 
 (0.006) (0.033) (0.090) (0.072) (0.159) 
American Indian −0.015 −0.030 −0.015 −0.075 −0.021 
 (0.008) (0.019) (0.032) (0.044) (0.075) 
Chinese 0.132** 0.122** −0.026 0.059 0.348 
 (0.019) (0.036) (0.154) (0.067) (0.303) 
Asian Indian 0.123** 0.114** −0.054 0.111 0.343 
 (0.019) (0.044) (0.156) (0.074) (0.316) 
Korean 0.128* 0.118* −0.112 0.019 0.198 
 (0.051) (0.059) (0.158) (0.084) (0.285) 
Japanese 0.096** 0.092* −0.033 0.035 0.111 
 (0.031) (0.038) (0.118) (0.070) (0.181) 
Filipino 0.035* 0.028 −0.063 −0.030 0.298 
 (0.015) (0.021) (0.168) (0.074) (0.316) 
Vietnamese −0.018 −0.037 −0.169 −0.076 0.252 
 (0.016) (0.035) (0.177) (0.052) (0.324) 
Mother Has Any College Education 0.007 0.010 0.010 0.012 0.014 
 (0.006) (0.017) (0.016) (0.016) (0.016) 
African American × Mom Any College −0.007 0.006 0.009 0.008 0.017 
 (0.010) (0.016) (0.018) (0.017) (0.023) 
American Indian × Mom Any College −0.002 0.000 0.002 0.002 0.007 
 (0.019) (0.019) (0.020) (0.020) (0.024) 
Chinese × Mom Any College −0.074** −0.078** −0.077** −0.079** −0.072* 
 (0.026) (0.029) (0.029) (0.030) (0.033) 
Asian Indian × Mom Any College −0.031 −0.027 −0.024 −0.027 −0.022 
 (0.026) (0.027) (0.027) (0.027) (0.038) 
Korean × Mom Any College −0.114* −0.107 −0.103 −0.105* −0.103 
 (0.053) (0.055) (0.054) (0.054) (0.057) 
Japanese × Mom Any College −0.096** −0.099** −0.101** −0.099** −0.105** 
 (0.035) (0.038) (0.039) (0.039) (0.041) 
Filipino × Mom Any College −0.005 −0.007 −0.006 −0.007 −0.004 
 (0.019) (0.020) (0.021) (0.020) (0.021) 
Vietnamese × Mom Any College 0.066** 0.075* 0.080** 0.076* 0.091** 
 (0.025) (0.029) (0.030) (0.030) (0.032) 
Constant 1.046** 0.721 0.053 0.039 −0.232 
 (0.044) (2.799) (2.587) (2.803) (2.707) 
Observations 1,523 1,523 1,523 1,523 1,523 
R2 .120 .122 .130 .128 .137 
Race/Ethnicity, Education, and Year Indicators 
Controls for Parental Characteristics  
Controls for Cultural Measures    
Controls for Economic Measures    

Notes: All models include indicators for each race/ethnicity category, maternal college education, and year. The full model includes controls for mean maternal and paternal age, marital status, proportion of mothers who live in the United States, proportions of births at first, second, and third parity, and aggregate group characteristics from the U.S. Census and ACS data measured separately by gender: proportions not in the labor force, foreign-born, living in a three-generation household, non-U.S. citizen, home ownership, Hispanic ethnicity, farm residence, and mean values of years living in the United States, family income, and home values. Bootstrapped standard errors stratified by race/ethnicity are shown in parentheses.

Source: NVSS 1969–2018, limited to births at parity 3 (live birth order 3).

p < .10; *p < .05; **p < .01

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