Impact of Living Arrangement on Sex Ratio at Birth in China's Rural Area

Xianling Zhang, Duke University

Imbalance of SRB has been a gradually severe population problem in China since 1980s, analysis of determinant factors to the phenomenon is of great practical importance and policy significance to understand and resolve this problem. Based on previous research, this paper observes impact of living arrangement on SRB in rural China, using the 2005 1% Population Sampling Survey data. The results show that comparing with couples living alone, women living with parents-in-law present higher probability of giving birth to baby boys, while living with their own parents has no apparent influence; moreover, impact of living arrangement mainly concentrates on second parity and above. In addition, education of women has an inverse U-shaped effect on kid’s SRB, sex structure of children ever born obviously affects the next child’s SRB, participating in endowment insurance can decrease the probability of women to have baby boys.