From Sex Preference of Children to Its Reality: Sex Ratio at Birth and Its Determinants in China

Xiaochun Qiao, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The objective of this paper is to describe the sex preference of children by Chinese couples, and its consequence on sex ratio at birth. The data from the first National Reproductive Health Survey conducted by the State Family Planning Commission in 1997 and the data from China 2000 national population census will be used. The analysis will be formed in three parts: 1. The sex preference of Chinese couples; 2. Description of the current status of the sex ratio at birth in China; 3. The causes of the continuing increase of sex ratio at birth in China. We will use both descriptive and multivariate regression modeling to conduct the analysis. Preliminary results show that sex ratio at birth has increased substantially in year 2000. Sex ratios conditional on parity reveal normal sex ratios for the first parity and elevated levels at subsequent parities.