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Is Son Preference Weakening?
Authors: Anjali Radkar
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, 53(12)
Topic(s): Gender
Son preference
Country: Asia
  India
Published: MAR 2018
Abstract: The National Family Health Survey data indicates that the index of intensity of son preference, a crude measure based on attitude, has declined—so has the measure based on behaviour. The share of those who have accepted daughters-only families has increased from 5.15% to 6.65% from NFHS-1 to NFHS-3. Daughters-only couples are concentrated in the southern states of India and are typically urban, educated, and upper-caste, with high living standards. Sex ratio at birth figures for 2007–12 highlight the decline in the number of missing girls to 3.3 lakh per year from 5.8 lakh earlier. Is son preference weakening? Is the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act a contributing factor?
Web: http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/2018_53/12/SA_LIII_12_240318_Anjali%20Radkar.pdf