Sex Ratios In China Research Articles

Bride Trafficking from Vietnam to China: The Critique of Socialist Feminism

Bride trafficking is a phenomenon where women are sold for forced marriage. This phenomenon occurs in many Vietnamese women brought to China without their consent to marry. It has been claimed that there are 'supply and demand factors in encouraging the development of bride trafficking from Vietnam to China, such as an imbalanced sex ratio in China and a lack of education. This research analyses the occurrence of bride trafficking from Vietnam to China through the lens of gender and politics. Using the narrative analysis method and literature study through the perspective of socialist feminism, this research found that bride trafficking from Vietnam to China embodies double oppression towards Vietnamese women. It results from the intersection between two oppressive structures: patriarchy and capitalism.Consequently, a practice of sexual economy is developed in the form of bride trafficking. This research also found that globalization significantly affects bride trafficking from Vietnam to China. Globalization paves the way for this phenomenon to happen. Thus, this article offers a perspective favouring women in analyzing transnational phenomena in international relations.Keywords: bride trafficking; globalization; patriarchy; capitalism; sexual objectification

Dynamics between Regional Sex Ratios at Birth and Sex Ratios at Prime Marriageable Ages in China

AbstractFollowing the homeostatic principle in demography and the notion of a sex ratio transition, I propose a self‐corrective mechanism to describe the dynamics of regional sex ratios in China. The mechanism consists of two pathways: (1) internal migration redistributes men and women across regions in a way that reduces highly skewed regional sex ratios at prime marriageable ages (SRM); and (2) a competitive marriage market for men reduces parental incentives for son‐biased sex selection, thus lowering sex ratios at birth (SRB). The mechanism suggests several hypotheses about the dynamics between regional SRBs and SRMs. I test these hypotheses using prefecture‐level sex ratios in four Chinese population censuses from 1982 to 2010. I use regression analyses that control for prefectural demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Results show that prefectures with higher SRBs in 1982 and 1990 experienced a greater decline in sex ratios of residents when the birth cohort reached marriageable ages in 2000 and 2010, respectively, resulting in a weak correlation between SRBs and subsequent SRMs in the same prefecture. Prefectural SRBs in 2000 and 2010 were negatively correlated with contemporary SRMs—a one‐unit higher prefectural SRM was associated with an approximately 0.3‐unit lower SRB in 2000 and 0.2‐unit lower SRB in 2010. Changes in prefectural SRBs between 1990 and 2010 are negatively correlated with changes in SRMs during the same period. The empirical findings are consistent with the implications of the proposed self‐corrective mechanism, suggesting that sex ratios may be subject to homeostatic forces within the population system.

Does female labor scarcity encourage innovation? Evidence from China's gender imbalance

AbstractThis paper studies how the scarcity of different types of workers in a region shapes firm innovation across industries, using the unbalanced regional sex ratios in China as a source of identification strategy. The empirical results show that the shortage of female workers has spurred firms in female‐intensive industries to innovate more, particularly in industries with low substitution between female and male workers, consistent with the price effect of the directed technical change theory. In male‐intensive industries with high elasticity of substitution and regions with more skewed local sex ratios, firms are more innovative, demonstrating that the market size effect of the directed technical change theory is also at play.

Deadly discrimination: Implications of “missing girls” for workplace safety

We examine an indirect but potentially deadly consequence of the “missing girls” phenomenon. A shortage of brides causes many parents with sons of marriageable age to work harder and seek higher-paying but dangerous jobs. In response, employers invest less in workplace safety, which in turn increases work-related mortality. Drawing from a broad range of data sets and taking advantage of large regional and temporal variations in sex ratios in China, we demonstrate that in areas with more severe shortages of young women, the cohort of parents with sons of marriageable age suffers a higher incidence of accidental injuries and workplace deaths.

Deadly Discrimination: Implications of "Missing Girls" for Workplace Safety

We examine an indirect but potentially deadly consequence of the “missing girls” phenomenon. A shortage of brides causes many parents with sons of marriageable age to work harder and seek higher-paying but potentially dangerous jobs. In response, employers invest less in workplace safety, which in turn increases work-related mortality. Drawing from a broad range of data sets and taking advantage of large regional and temporal variations in sex ratios in China, we demonstrate that in areas with a more severe shortage of young women, the parents with unmarried sons suffer a significantly higher incidence of accidental injuries and workplace deaths. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Religious Geography and County‐Level Sex Ratios in China

AbstractThe sex ratio at birth in China is highly imbalanced in favor of boys. Past research on sex ratios in China emphasizes economic factors for their weakening effect on the Confucian tradition of son preference. Research in the sociology of religion suggests that religious geography may affect sex ratios through the spill‐over of religious teachings to those living in areas dominated by a religious tradition. To assess this linkage, we investigate the relationship between religious geography and county‐level child sex ratios using the 2000 China Population Census and the 2004 China Economic Census, the most complete and recent data available on religious presence in China. Applying spatial analyses of 2,685 counties (over 90% of all counties), we find that counties with a greater presence of Daoist temples have more imbalanced (male‐biased) sex ratios, whereas a greater presence of Buddhist temples and Islamic mosques is associated with less imbalanced sex ratios.

Housing prices and trade surpluses in China: An inter-temporal approach

This paper develops an inter-temporal current account model to study the impacts of expected rising housing prices on trade surpluses in China. The model shows two channels working in opposite directions. The first channel is the intra-temporal substitution channel. It discourages current consumption of tradable goods, leading to trade surpluses. The second is the inter-temporal substitution channel, which instead leads to trade deficits. When intra-temporal channel dominates, expected rising housing prices lead to trade surpluses. However, borrowing constraints on housing purchases may weaken the intra-temporal substitution channel and thus weaken the positive correlation between expected housing prices and trade surpluses. We show empirically that expected rising housing prices lead to trade surpluses in China. We also identify possible reason for this finding: strong intra-temporal substitution elasticity due to large male to female sex ratio in China. We further show that the positive relation between expected rising housing prices and trade surpluses is weaker in regions with more stringent borrowing constraints, consistent with our model’s prediction.

Socio-economic Development and Change in Sex-Ratio (at birth): Phase to re-examine it

The study attempts to understand the phenomenon of high economic growth that directed to favourable sex ratio in China, and South Korea whether it has created the similar affects in India also, study finds that initially in half decade of moderately high economic growth in 21st century the trends have not been observed favourably using the unit level information which was directly collected from the households. Study also finds that in recent trends of declining fertility household inclined to maintain perfect composition of the family in which a slightly large proportion of the households ensures that in second birth order they should give birth to son if they had daughter in first birth order. However, contrary to these trends, study finds in case if the parents have an option to stay with the daughter in their old age that significantly negatively influences the odd of giving birth to son.

Live birth sex ratio after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer in China--an analysis of 121,247 babies from 18 centers.

In order to study the impact of procedures of IVF/ICSI technology on sex ratio in China, we conducted this multi-center retrospective study including 121,247 babies born to 93,895 women in China. There were 62,700 male babies and 58,477 female babies, making the sex ratio being 51.8% (Male: Female = 107∶100). In univariate logistic regression analysis, sex ratio was imbalance toward females of 50.3% when ICSI was preformed compared to 47.7% when IVF was used (P<0.01). The sex ratio in IVF/ICSI babies was significantly higher toward males in transfers of blastocyst (54.9%) and thawed embryo (52.4%) when compared with transfers of cleavage stage embryo (51.4%) and fresh embryo (51.5%), respectively. Multiple delivery was not associated with sex ratio. However, in multivariable logistic regression analysis after controlling for related factors, only ICSI (adjusted OR = 0.90, 95%CI: 0.88–0.93; P<0.01) and blastocyst transfer (adjusted OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.09–1.20; P<0.01) were associated with sex ratio in IVF/ICSI babies. In conclusion, the live birth sex ratio in IVF/ICSI babies was influenced by the use of ICSI, which may decrease the percentage of male offspring, or the use of blastocyst transfer, which may increase the percentage of male offspring.

The association between season of pregnancy and birth-sex among Chinese.

Objective: although numerous studies have reported the association between birth season and sex ratio, few studies have been conducted in subtropical regions in a non-Western setting. The present study assessed the effects of pregnancy season on birth sex ratio in China. Methods: We conducted a national population-based retrospective study from 2006–2008 with 3175 children-parents pairs enrolled in the Northeast regions of China. Demographics and data relating to pregnancy and birth were collected and analyzed. A multiple logistical regression model was fitted to estimate the regression coefficient and 95% confidence interval (CI) of refractive error for mother pregnancy season, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: After adjusting for parental age (cut-off point was 30 years), region, nationality, mother education level, and mother miscarriage history, there is a significant statistical different mother pregnancy season on birth-sex. Compared with mothers who were pregnant in spring, those pregnant in summer or winter had a high probability of delivering girls (p < 0.05). The birth-sex ratio varied with months. Conclusions: Our results suggested that mothers pregnant in summer and winter were more likely to deliver girls, compared with those pregnant in spring. Pregnancy season may play an important role in the birth-sex.

性别比例失衡对择偶过程中消费行为的影响

进化心理学认为性别比例失衡会影响物种择偶难度，在中国性别比例处于失衡状态，新生儿中男女比例甚至达到了120:100。性别比例会对中国人的择偶行为产生什么样的影响还不清楚。本研究通过对男性偏多和女性偏多的学生在择偶过程中的消费行为的调查发现，在男性偏多情况下男性会花费更多金钱请女性吃饭，而在女性偏多情况下女性感知到找男朋友更加困难并且在将来更加偏向于选择工作而不是家庭。研究表明性别比例失衡的确会对人在择偶过程中的消费行为产生影响，同时也对其理论意义和实践价值进行了探讨。 According to evolutionary psychology, sex ratio in a population is an important factor in determining mating behavior in animals. We propose that sex ratio also has pervasive effects on humans. The sex ratio in China is in a state of imbalance, and sex ratio of baby even reaches 120:100. But effects of sex ratio to mating behavior of Chinese were not clear. The study examines consumer behavior of mating in male-bias and female-bias and gets the effects. Findings show that male-bias leads men to spend more money on inviting women to have a meal. Female-bias leads women to perceive more difficulties in finding another half and will choose work in the future but not family. Research shows that sex ratio indeed influences consumer behavior of mating. We also probe the theoretical significance and practical value of sex ratio.

Hepatitis B does not explain male-biased sex ratios in China

Oster (2005) argued that parents with Hepatitis B (HBV) have more sons, which explained Asia's “missing women”. Lin and Luoh (2008) show no relationship between gender and mother's HBV. We test for a relationship between paternal HBV and son share and find none.

Comment on “Ultrasonography and Sex Ratios in China”

Asian Economic Policy ReviewVolume 4, Issue 1 p. 140-141 Comment on “Ultrasonography and Sex Ratios in China” Yongding YU, Corresponding Author Yongding YU Institute of World Economics and Politics †Correspondence: Yongding Yu, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, No. 5, Jianguomenneidajie, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100732, China. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Yongding YU, Corresponding Author Yongding YU Institute of World Economics and Politics †Correspondence: Yongding Yu, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, No. 5, Jianguomenneidajie, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100732, China. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 28 May 2009 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-3131.2009.01117.xCitations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume4, Issue1June 2009Pages 140-141 RelatedInformation

Ultrasonography and Sex Ratios in China

This paper directly measures the causal effects of sex‐selective abortions on the sex ratio at birth by exploiting the exogenous county‐level variation in the availability of B‐ultrasound machines. Using data from the 1990 Census of Fujian Province and local records on the introduction time of B‐ultrasound machines, we find that the availability of B‐ultrasound machines increases the sex ratio at birth by 0.025 in rural areas and 0.117 in urban areas. The rise of sex ratio is especially significant for second births in rural areas when the first birth is a girl.

Comment on “Ultrasonography and Sex Ratios in China”

Comment on “Ultrasonography and Sex Ratios in China”

The Decline of Son Preference in South Korea: The Roles of Development and Public Policy

For years, sex ratios at birth kept rising in South Korea despite rapid development. We show that this was not an anomaly: underlying son preference fell with development, but the effect of son preference on sex ratios at birth rose until the mid‐1990s as a result of improved sex‐selection technology. Now South Korea leads Asia with a declining sex ratio at birth. We explore how son preference was affected by development and by public policy. Decomposition analysis indicates that development reduced son preference primarily through triggering normative changes across society—rather than just in individuals whose socioeconomic circumstances had changed. The cultural underpinnings of son preference in preindustrial Korea were unraveled by industrialization and urbanization even as public policies sought to uphold the patriarchal family system. Our results suggest that child sex ratios in China and India may decline before those countries reach South Korean levels of development, since the governments of both countries vigorously promote normative change to reduce son preference.

Fertility Choices and Sex Selection in Asia: Analysis and Policy

High sex ratios in China and India have historically concerned researchers (Sen 1990) and their recent increase has alarmed policymakers worldwide. This paper identifies sex selection via infanticide and abortion as the principal explanation for the sex ratio distortion, and rules out competing explanations such as biology (Oster 2005) or differential mortality rates. Consistent with recent work (Jha et al. 2006), I find that the sex ratio of first-order births is close to the natural rate and steeply rising following the birth of low-order daughters, indicating that mothers are practicing pre-natal sex selection or immediate infanticide. Sex ratios are found to be higher among those anticipating lower fertility, such as those under stricter government fertility limits. I present a model of a mother's fertility choice when she has access to a sex-selection technology and faces a mandated fertility limit. By exploiting variation in fines levied in China for unsanctioned births, I demonstrate that higher fine regimes discourage fertility but are associated with higher sex ratios among those who choose to have an additional child. I then estimate a structural model of parental preferences using China's 2000 census data that indicates that a son is worth 2.90 years of income more than a daughter, and the premium is highest among less educated mothers and rural families. I conclude with a set of simulations to model the effect on sex ratios and total fertility of a proposed subsidy to families who fail to have a son, and find that such a policy would reduce sex ratios and lower overall fertility.

Family Size, Fertility Preferences, and Sex Ratio in China in the Era of the One Child Family Policy: Results From National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Survey

The following abstracts of articles from leading journals have been selected on the basis of their importance to the practice of obstetrics and gynecology.

Shortage of girls in China today

China has the most severe shortage of girls compared to boys of any country in the world today, as documented by China's surveys and censuses up to 2000. This article evaluates data on sex ratios in China since before the founding of the People's Republic, and shows that the relative dearth of girls has become more extreme during the last two decades, and that the problem is real and not merely due to undercounting of girls. Daughters are lost primarily through sex-selective abortion, secondly through excess female infant mortality, and thirdly through neglect or mistreatment of girls up to age three, in cities as well as rural areas. Until recently, the dearth of girls was confined to second or higher-order births, but now couples in some provinces are using sex-selective abortions for first births. Maps show the geographical concentration of life-threatening discrimination against girls and its spread over time. Son preference, low fertility and technology combine to cause the loss of daughters in China today and compulsory family planning and the one-child policy exacerbate the problem. The discussion includes what the People's Republic of China has done to ameliorate life-threatening discrimination against girls and what further steps might be taken to improve the situation.

The Security Threat of Asia's Sex Ratios

demographics has become a new subfield of Security Studies in recent years, as scholars have begun to envision the security implications of long-term demographic change. This subfield provides important new insight into the problem of population, social stability and conflict, but our research suggests that an additional demographic factor must be taken into account when assessing social stability and security of a state—that of sex ratios. What are the security implications for a population whose males, particularly those of the young adult population, significantly outnumber females? China and India, as well as several other Asian states, are currently undergoing various demographic transitions, one of the most important being the increasingly high sex ratios of young segments of these populations. We argue that internal instability is heightened in nations displaying the high level of exaggerated gender inequality indicated by high sex ratios, leading to an altered security calculus for the state. Possibilities of meaningful democracy and peaceful foreign policy are diminished as a result. The high sex ratios in China and India in particular have implications for the long-term security of these nations and the Asian region more broadly.