Effects of sex preference and social pressure on fertility in changing Japanese families

Yamamura, Eiji (2009): Effects of sex preference and social pressure on fertility in changing Japanese families.

Abstract

This study explored how social pressure related to parental preference for the sex of their children affects fertility. Pre-war and post-war generations were compared using individual level data previously collected in Japan in 2002. In the pre-war generation, if the first child was a daughter, the total number of children tended to increase regardless of the mother’s sex preference. This tendency was not observed for the post-war generation. Results suggest that social pressure related to giving birth to a son led to high fertility in the pre-war generation; however, fertility was not influenced by social pressure in the post-war generation.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Fertility, son preference, social pressure, family structure
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J13 - Fertility ; Family Planning ; Child Care ; Children ; Youth; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J12 - Marriage ; Marital Dissolution ; Family Structure ; Domestic Abuse; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J16 - Economics of Gender ; Non-labor Discrimination

References

Ahn N, Mira P. (2002). A note on the changing relationship between fertility and female employment rates in developed countries. Journal of Population Economy, 15: 667-682.

Arnold F, Zhaoxiang L. (1986). Sex preference, fertility, and family planning in China. Population and Development Review, 12 :221-246.

Becker G (1965) 　A theory of the allocation of time. Economic Journal, 75: 493-517.

Becker, G.., Murphy, K. (2000). Social Economics: Market Behavior in a Social Environment, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Behrman J. (1988) Intrahousehold allocation of nutrients in rural India: Are boys favored? Do parents exhibit inequality aversion? Oxford Economic Papers, 40: 32-54.

Behrman J., Pollak R., Taubman P. (1986) Do parents favor boys? International Economic Review, 27: 33-54.

Ben-Porath Y., Welch F. (1976). Do sex preferences really matter? Quarterly Journal of Economics, 90: 285-307.

Ben-Porath Y., Welch F. (1980). On sex preferences and family size. Research in Population Economics, 2: 387-399.

Cigno A. (1991). Economics of family. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, M.A.

Dahl GB., Moretti E. (2008). The demand for sons. Review of Economic Studies, 75(4): 1085-1120.

Das, N. (1987) Sex preference and fertility on reproductive behavior: A study of recent Indian data. Demography, 24:517-530

Galor O, Weil DN (1996) The gender gap, fertility and growth. American Economic Review, 86(3): 374-387.

Greif, A. (1994). Cultural beliefs and the organization of society: A historical and theoretical reflection on collectivist and individualist societies. Journal of Political 102, 912-950.

Greif, A. (2002). Institutions and impersonal exchange: from communal to individual responsibility. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics 158, 168-204.

Gutierrez-Domenech M. (2008).The impact of the labour market on the timing of marriage and births in Spain. Journal of Population Economy, 21(1): 83-110.

Hayami, Y. (1998). Norms and rationality in the evolution of economic systems: A view from Asian villages. Japanese Economic Review 49, 36-53.

Hayami, Y. (2001). Development Economics: From the poverty to the wealth of nations. Oxford University Press, New York.

Hendry J. (1981) Marriage in Changing Japan: Community and society. Tuttle Publishers, Tokyo.

Kawaguchi D., Miyazaki J. (2009).Working mothers and son’s preferences regarding female labor supply: Direct evidence from stated preferences. Journal of Population Economy, 22(1): 115-130.

Leung, S.G. (1988). On tests for sex preferences. Journal of Population Economics, 1: 95-114.

Leung, S.G. (1991). A stochastic dynamic analysis of parental sex preferences and fertility. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121: 1063-1088.

Leung, S.G. (1994). Will sex selection reduce fertility. Journal of Population Economics, 7(4): 379-392.

Lundberg, S. (2005) Sons, daughters, and parental behavior. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21(3): 340-356.

Ramseyer, J.M. (1996). Odd markets in Japanese history: Law and economic growth. Cambridge University Press, New York.

Yamamura, E. (2008a) Impact of formal and informal deterrents on driving behavior,. Journal of Socio-economics, 37(6): 2505-2512.

Yamamura, E. (2008b) The market for lawyers and social capital: Are informal rules a substitute for formal ones?.Review of Law & Economics, 4(1): Article 23.