@article{3be383fed4654e9b97096015c6c9603a,
title = "Is son preference disappearing from Bangladesh?",
abstract = "Historically, son preference has been widely prevalent in South Asia, manifested in the form of skewed sex ratios, gender differentials in child mortality, and worse educational investments in daughters versus sons. In the present study, we show, using data from a purposefully designed nationally representative survey for Bangladesh, that among women of childbearing age, son bias in stated fertility preferences has weakened and there is an emerging preference for gender balance. We examine a number of different hypotheses for the decline in son preference, including the increasing availability of female employment in the manufacturing sector, increased female education, and the decline of joint family living. Using survival analysis, we show that in contrast to stated fertility preferences, actual fertility decisions are still shaped by son preference.",
keywords = "Bangladesh, Birth spacing, Female employment, Fertility, Gender bias",
author = "Asadullah, \{M. Niaz\} and Nazia Mansoor and Teresa Randazzo and Zaki Wahhaj",
note = "Funding Information: This research has been supported by funding through the Australian Government{\textquoteright}s Development Research Awards Scheme (Agreement no. 66396). The views expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Commonwealth of Australia. The authors are solely responsible for any errors in the manuscript. Funding Information: The survey was funded by an ADRAS (Australian Development Research Awards Scheme) grant on “The Role of Secondary Schooling and Gender Norms in the Long-term Opportunities and Choices in Rural Bangladeshi Women”. The survey was conducted by the University of Kent and the University of Malaya in collaboration with DATA, Bangladesh (Data Analysis and Technical Assistance). Funding Information: This research has been supported by funding through the Australian Government{\textquoteright}s Development Research Awards Scheme (Agreement no. 66396). The views expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Commonwealth of Australia. The authors are solely responsible for any errors in the manuscript. We dedicate this article to the late Simeen Mahmud, whose pioneering research on gender and women's empowerment in part inspired our work. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Ltd",
year = "2021",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105353",
language = "English",
volume = "140",
journal = "World Development",
issn = "0305-750X",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}
