Sibling Composition and Child Mortality in South Asia: Assessing Trends beyond Male-Female Dichotomy

Prashant Kumar Singh, Institute for Human Development

This study assess trends in child survival by older surviving sibling composition in four South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, using multiple survey rounds of Demographic and Health Surveys conducted during 1990-2007. A total of twelve combinations of sex composition of older surviving siblings were constructed. Predicted hazard were estimated based on Cox Proportional Hazard analysis by older surviving sibling composition in four countries to assess the trend and pattern of difference. The results show selective neglect of children with certain sex and birth-order combinations that operate differentially for girls and boys in all selected countries. Both girls and boys who were born after multiple same-sex siblings experience poor outcomes. However, the preference for sons persists, and boys who were born after multiple daughters have the best possible outcomes.