Son Preference in India

Reeve Vanneman, University of Maryland
Sonalde B. Desai, University of Maryland
Kriti Vikram, University of Maryland

An abundant literature has documented son preferences in Korea, China, India, and the Near East. This literature has suggested an equally abundant array of theories about family, economic, and political causes that may sustain son preferences. This paper provides a first reasonably comprehensive test of explanations of son preference using household-level data. Using the India Human Development Survey, 2005, it investigates six distinct measures of son preference and 18 measures of seven main causes suggested in the literature. We find strong empirical support for most hypothesized relationships when looking at explicit attitudes indicating son preference. However, the relationships are weaker when looking at behaviors motivated by son preference. Behavioral expressions of son preferences are subject to more situational contingencies often unrelated to the underlying bias against girls. It is useful, therefore, to maintain the distinction between attitudinal prejudice and behavioral discrimination in evaluating causal theories of son preference.