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SOCIOECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF CHILD SEX RATIO IN INDIA

M. R. Singariya

Abstract


Rapid decline in child sex ratio (CSR) in India is a serious problem with severe socioeconomic, demographic and cultural implication. It is a broad indicator, which reveals the ground realities that exist in the fabric of the society. Moreover, the child sex ratio is a powerful index to examine the social response in female children. Present sex composition of the child population determines the future vital events such as marriage rate, labour force, age structure, birth and deaths, migration, and replacement etc. Therefore, deficit in girl child population, leads to serious demographic imbalance and adverse social consequences. However, in recent decades, the drastic decline in child sex ratio is an issue of grave concern in India. Therefore, efforts are needed to solve the issue thereby create equal regard and affection for the girl child. Otherwise, the child population will become skewed leading to a host of several societal problems.

 

Data needed for the present study have been collected from Census of India (2011), SRS (2009) and IHDS (2010). Using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) Model and Quantile Regression Model for twenty one major states of India, the paper tries to examine the socioeconomic determinants of child sex ratio. Twenty four variables relating to demography and development, marriage and family pattern, marriage expenses and dowry, women’s control over resources, women’s physical mobility, expectation of old age support from daughter and women’s participation in the work. The results show that average wedding expenses for female, women’s purchasing large items, percent women practice Ghunghat and percent female cultivators among working age women have a significant negative association with child sex ratio in India in 2011. Decadal population growth rate and percent expecting financial help from daughters in old age have a significant positive association with child sex ratio. Thus, strengthening old age support from daughters will reduce son preference attitude. Reduction in wedding expenses is an utmost need for balancing child sex ratio in India.

Keywords


Child sex ratio, OLS, SRS, IHDS, Quantile regression, Socioeconomic determinants.

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