Son Preference and Human Capital

In our model, decisions about the quantity and quality of children are interdependent and are influenced by a son preference. A son preference substantially widens the gap between the quality of female and male children, and increases the possibility of having more children to realize this preference. An increase in the level of son preference lowers the average level of education, especially for female children, while for households with a son preference, having a female birth at each birth order significantly increases the probability of having more children, with a magnitude which is much larger than that suggested in Dahl and Moretti (2008). More interestingly, once such households have a son, there is a significant reduction in that household’s likelihood of having more children. Furthermore, our findings have established the causal effect of a son preference on the quantity and quality of children within a family. <br>