May God Give Sons to Everyone: Gender-Biased Fertility Patterns in Pakistan.
Abstract: We examine the prevalence and strength of the phenomenon of son preference and its effects on Pakistani women’s fertility. Using data from two representative Demographic and Health Surveys, we come up with strong evidence for both the revealed and stated preference for male offspring. While the likelihood of second birth does not vary with the sex of the first-born, women with one or more sons are upto 17% less likely to pursue higher-order births compared with women with no sons. Besides, parents with one or more sons are upto 35% less likely to state the desire to have another child.
