Family Systems, Political systems, and Asia’s ‘Missing Girls’ : The Construction of Son Preference and Its Unraveling

Das Gupta, Monica

dc.creator	Das Gupta, Monica
dc.date	2012-03-19T19:14:20Z
dc.date	2012-03-19T19:14:20Z
dc.date	2009-12-01
dc.date.accessioned	2023-02-18T19:39:07Z
dc.date.available	2023-02-18T19:39:07Z
dc.identifier	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20091203173119
dc.identifier	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4341
dc.identifier.uri	http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/249841
dc.description	Son preference is known to be found in certain types of cultures, that is patrilineal cultures. But what explains the fact that China, South Korea, and Northwest India manifest such extreme child sex ratios compared with other patrilineal societies? This paper argues that what makes these societies unique is that their pre-modern political and administrative systems used patrilineages to organize and administer their citizens. The interplay of culture, state, and political processes generated uniquely rigid patriliny and son preference. The paper also argues that the advent of the modern state in these settings has unraveled the underpinnings of the rigid patrilineal rules, and unleashed a variety of forces that reduce son preference. Firstly, the modern state has powerful tools for incorporating and managing its citizenry, rendering patrilineages a threat rather than an asset for the state. Secondly, the modern state has brought in political, social, and legal reforms aimed to challenge traditional social hierarchies, including the age and gender hierarchies of the kinship system. Thirdly, industrialization and urbanization have ushered in new modes of social organization, which reduce the hold of clans and lineages. Studies of the impact of the media suggest that states can accelerate the resultant decline in son preference, through media efforts to help parents perceive that daughters can now be as valuable as sons.
dc.language	English
dc.relation	Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5148
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.rights	World Bank
dc.subject	ACCESS TO LAND
dc.subject	ACCESS TO RESOURCES
dc.subject	ADULT WOMEN
dc.subject	ADULTS
dc.subject	AFTERLIFE
dc.subject	AGED
dc.subject	ALLIANCES
dc.subject	AUTONOMY
dc.subject	BIRTH ORDER
dc.subject	BREADWINNER
dc.subject	CAPITALISM
dc.subject	CENSUSES
dc.subject	CHILD CUSTODY
dc.subject	CHILD HEALTH
dc.subject	CHILD MARRIAGE
dc.subject	CHILD MORTALITY
dc.subject	CHILDBEARING
dc.subject	CITIES
dc.subject	CITIZENS
dc.subject	CIVILIZATION
dc.subject	CLAN
dc.subject	COMMON PROPERTY
dc.subject	COURT
dc.subject	COURTS
dc.subject	CULTURES
dc.subject	CUSTOMARY LAW
dc.subject	CUSTOMARY PRACTICE
dc.subject	DAILY LIFE
dc.subject	DEMOCRACY
dc.subject	DEMOGRAPHIC IMPLICATIONS
dc.subject	DEMOGRAPHY
dc.subject	DESCENT
dc.subject	DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
dc.subject	DEVELOPMENT POLICY
dc.subject	DIFFERENTIALS IN MORTALITY
dc.subject	DISCOURSE
dc.subject	DISCRIMINATION
dc.subject	DIVISION OF PROPERTY
dc.subject	DIVORCE
dc.subject	DIVORCED WOMEN
dc.subject	DOMESTIC SPHERE
dc.subject	DOWRIES
dc.subject	DOWRY
dc.subject	EARLY CHILDHOOD
dc.subject	ECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subject	ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
dc.subject	ECONOMIC RESOURCES
dc.subject	ECONOMIC RIGHTS
dc.subject	EITHER SEX
dc.subject	ELDERLY
dc.subject	ELDERLY WOMEN
dc.subject	ENDOGAMY
dc.subject	EQUAL RIGHTS
dc.subject	EQUALITY OF MEN
dc.subject	ETHNIC IDENTITY
dc.subject	ETHNICITY
dc.subject	ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDIES
dc.subject	ETHNOGRAPHIES
dc.subject	EXCESS MORTALITY
dc.subject	FAMILIES
dc.subject	FAMILY COMPOSITION
dc.subject	FAMILY FORMS
dc.subject	FAMILY HEALTH
dc.subject	FAMILY INCOME
dc.subject	FAMILY LAW
dc.subject	FAMILY LAWS
dc.subject	FAMILY MEMBERS
dc.subject	FAMILY PLANNING
dc.subject	FAMILY SIZE
dc.subject	FAMILY STRUCTURE
dc.subject	FATHERS
dc.subject	FEMALE
dc.subject	FEMALE INFANTICIDE
dc.subject	FEMALE MORTALITY
dc.subject	FERTILITY
dc.subject	FERTILITY DECLINE
dc.subject	FOLKLORE
dc.subject	GENDER
dc.subject	GENDER BIAS
dc.subject	GENDER DIFFERENCES
dc.subject	GENDER DISCRIMINATION
dc.subject	GENDER EQUALITY
dc.subject	GENDER EQUITY
dc.subject	GENDER HIERARCHIES
dc.subject	GENDER INEQUITIES
dc.subject	GENDER PREFERENCE
dc.subject	GENDER RELATIONS
dc.subject	GENDER ROLES
dc.subject	GENEALOGY
dc.subject	GENERATIONS
dc.subject	HEAD OF THE FAMILY
dc.subject	HOME
dc.subject	HOMES
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLDS
dc.subject	HOUSES
dc.subject	HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
dc.subject	HUNTING
dc.subject	HUSBAND
dc.subject	HUSBANDS
dc.subject	ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN
dc.subject	ILLNESS
dc.subject	IMAGES OF WOMEN
dc.subject	IMMIGRANTS
dc.subject	INCEST
dc.subject	INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS
dc.subject	INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS
dc.subject	INDUSTRIALIZATION
dc.subject	INEQUALITIES
dc.subject	INFANT
dc.subject	INHERITANCE
dc.subject	ISLAMIC LAW
dc.subject	JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE
dc.subject	JOURNAL OF WOMEN
dc.subject	KINSHIP
dc.subject	KINSHIP STRUCTURE
dc.subject	LAWS
dc.subject	LEGAL CHANGES
dc.subject	LEGAL ENTITIES
dc.subject	LEGAL REFORMS
dc.subject	LEGAL RIGHTS
dc.subject	LOCAL COMMUNITIES
dc.subject	LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
dc.subject	LOCAL POPULATION
dc.subject	LOCAL POPULATIONS
dc.subject	MARRIAGE LAW
dc.subject	MARRIAGES
dc.subject	MARRIED COUPLES
dc.subject	MARRIED MEN
dc.subject	MARRIED WOMAN
dc.subject	MARRIED WOMEN
dc.subject	MASS MEDIA
dc.subject	MEDICAL SERVICES
dc.subject	MIGRATION
dc.subject	MODERNIZATION
dc.subject	MORTALITY AMONG INFANTS
dc.subject	MOTHER
dc.subject	MURDERS OF WOMEN
dc.subject	NUMBER OF GIRLS
dc.subject	OFFENDERS
dc.subject	OLD AGE
dc.subject	OLD SYSTEM
dc.subject	PARENTHOOD
dc.subject	PARENTS
dc.subject	PATRIARCHY
dc.subject	PEACE
dc.subject	PENSION
dc.subject	PERSONAL LIVES
dc.subject	PHILOSOPHY
dc.subject	POLICY RESEARCH
dc.subject	POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER
dc.subject	POLITICAL INSTABILITY
dc.subject	POLITICAL POWER
dc.subject	POLITICAL SYSTEMS
dc.subject	POLYANDRY
dc.subject	POPULAR CULTURE
dc.subject	POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT
dc.subject	POPULATION CENSUSES
dc.subject	POPULATION DIVISION
dc.subject	POPULATION GROWTH
dc.subject	POPULATION STUDIES
dc.subject	PREFERENCE FOR SONS
dc.subject	PRENATAL SEX SELECTION
dc.subject	PROGRESS
dc.subject	PROPERTY RIGHTS
dc.subject	PUBLIC LIFE
dc.subject	PUBLIC POLICY
dc.subject	PUBLIC SERVICES
dc.subject	PUBLIC SPHERE
dc.subject	RADIO
dc.subject	RELIGION
dc.subject	RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
dc.subject	RESIDENCE
dc.subject	RIGHT OF REFUSAL
dc.subject	RITES
dc.subject	RITUAL
dc.subject	RITUALS
dc.subject	RURAL AREAS
dc.subject	RURAL DEVELOPMENT
dc.subject	RURAL WOMEN
dc.subject	SANCTIONS
dc.subject	SEX
dc.subject	SEX DIFFERENCES
dc.subject	SEX OF THE CHILD
dc.subject	SEX PREFERENCE
dc.subject	SEX RATIO
dc.subject	SEX RATIOS
dc.subject	SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTION
dc.subject	SOCIAL AFFAIRS
dc.subject	SOCIAL CHANGE
dc.subject	SOCIAL CLASS
dc.subject	SOCIAL CONTROL
dc.subject	SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
dc.subject	SOCIAL NORMS
dc.subject	SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
dc.subject	SOCIAL SCIENCE
dc.subject	SOCIAL SERVICES
dc.subject	SOCIAL STATUS
dc.subject	SOCIAL SUPPORT
dc.subject	SOCIAL SYSTEMS
dc.subject	SOCIAL WELFARE
dc.subject	SOCIETIES
dc.subject	SOCIETY
dc.subject	SOCIOLOGY
dc.subject	SON PREFERENCE
dc.subject	STATE POLICIES
dc.subject	SYMBOLS
dc.subject	TELEVISION
dc.subject	TRANSPORTATION
dc.subject	TV
dc.subject	UNITED NATIONS
dc.subject	UNMARRIED WOMAN
dc.subject	URBAN AREAS
dc.subject	URBAN WOMEN
dc.subject	URBANIZATION
dc.subject	VILLAGES
dc.subject	WAR
dc.subject	WARS
dc.subject	WIFE
dc.subject	WILL
dc.subject	WIVES
dc.subject	WOMAN
dc.subject	WOMEN'S STATUS
dc.subject	WORLD POPULATION
dc.subject	YOUNG COUPLE
dc.subject	YOUNG GIRLS
dc.subject	YOUNG WOMEN
dc.title	Family Systems, Political systems, and Asia’s ‘Missing Girls’ : The Construction of Son Preference and Its Unraveling
dc.type	Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
dc.type	Publications & Research
dc.coverage	South Asia
dc.coverage	The World Region
dc.coverage	East Asia and Pacific