Child Gender and Parental Investments in India

Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently?

Silvia Helena Barcellos, Leandro Carvalho, Adriana Lleras-Muney

Published May 10, 2010

There is considerable debate in the literature as to whether boys and girls are treated differently in India. But son-biased stopping rules imply that previous estimates are likely to be biased. The authors propose a novel identification strategy to properly identify the effects of child gender on parental investments. Using data from a time use survey they document gender differences in childcare time which have not been studied before in developing countries. They find that boys receive on average 10% more time than girls. They are also more likely to be breastfed for longer, given vaccinations and vitamin supplementation.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Barcellos, Silvia Helena, Leandro Carvalho, and Adriana Lleras-Muney, Child Gender and Parental Investments in India: Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently? Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2010. https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WR756.html.
BibTeX RIS

This paper series was made possible by the NIA funded RAND Center for the Study of Aging and the NICHD funded RAND Population Research Center.

This publication is part of the RAND working paper series. RAND working papers are intended to share researchers' latest findings and to solicit informal peer review. They have been approved for circulation by RAND but may not have been formally edited or peer reviewed.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.