Son Preference and Fertility in China(1997) and South Korea(2000)

Hosik Min, Texas A&M University

This paper examines the effect of son preference on the hazards of having a second and a third birth for China and South Korea. With 1997 Chinese National Fertility Survey and South Korea’s 2000 National Fertility Survey, the Cox proportional hazard model was used. The major covariate in the first analysis is whether or not the first-born was a daughter; whether both of the first two children were girls in the second analysis. In both models five covariates were included; mother's age at the birth of the first (or second) birth, whether she lives in urban area, and three dummy variables reflecting her level of education. The results show the important influence of son preference on the hazard of having a second and third baby. In particular, the association between son preference and fertility of Korean women for having a third baby was much stronger than that of Chinese women.