Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women
56 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2005
There are 2 versions of this paper
Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women
Hepatitis B and the Case of the Missing Women
Date Written: February 2005
Abstract
In many Asian countries the ratio of male to female population is higher than in the West -- as high as 1.07 in China and India, and even higher in Pakistan. A number of authors (most notably Sen, 1992) have suggested that this imbalance reflects excess female mortality and, as a result, have argued that as many as 100 million women are ``missing. This paper proposes an explanation for much of the observed over-representation of males: the hepatitis B virus. Evidence drawn from the existing medical literature as well as new studies of recent vaccination efforts indicate that carriers of the hepatitis B virus have offspring sex ratios as high as 1.55 boys for each girl. This is strongly supported by cross-country evidence on hepatitis B prevalence and sex ratios at birth. Hepatitis B is common in many Asian countries, especially China, where some 10 to 15% of the population is infected. Using data on viral prevalence by country as well as estimates of the effect of hepatitis on sex ratio drawn from a wide range of sources, I find that hepatitis B can explain about 45% of the missing women: around 75% in China, between 20% and 50% in Bangladesh, Egypt, and West Asia, and under 20% in India, Pakistan and Nepal.
Keywords: missing women, sex preference, gender discrimination, hepatitis B
JEL Classification: D1, I1, J11, J13, J71
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
The Quiet Revolution that Transformed Women's Employment, Education, and Family
-
How Do Sex Ratios Affect Marriage and Labor Markets? Evidence from America's Second Generation
-
Women, War and Wages: The Effect of Female Labor Supply on the Wage Structure at Mid-Century
By Daron Acemoglu, David H. Autor, ...
-
Women, War and Wages: The Effect of Female Labor Supply on the Wage Structure at Mid-Century
By Daron Acemoglu, David H. Autor, ...
-
Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China: The Effect of Sex-Specific Earnings on Sex Imbalance
By Nancy Qian
-
Fertility, Education and Development: Further Evidence from India
By Jean Drèze and Mamta Murthi