Son preference in India: new evidence using small-area estimation techniques

Abhishek Singh , International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Ashish Kumar Upadhyay, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Kaushalendra Kumar , International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Ashish Singh, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Fiifi Amoako Johnson, University of West Coast
Sabu S. S. Padmadas, University of Southampton

Preference for sons over daughters has been prevalent in India for a very long time. While a number of studies have examined the social and economic implications of son preference in India, there is little research on understanding son preference itself. We used small-area estimation techniques, linking data from the 2015-16 Indian National Family Health Survey with the 2011 census, to derive estimates of son preference for the 640 districts of India. Son preference was high in the districts from northern and central India, followed by western India. Son preference was lowest in districts from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Son preference was also high in districts from Gujarat and Maharashtra. Model-based estimates confirm district-level heterogeneity in son preference which are often masked by state- level estimates. Our findings suggest that the context of son preference in India is no longer regional or state-specific; rather it is local.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe