The Unintended Effects of a Ban on Sex-Selective Abortion on Infant Mortality: Evidence from India

India has long struggled with persistent problems of sex-selective abortions and the neglect of female children. In 1996, the Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act was implemented to stop the practices of prenatal sex determination and selective abortions. This paper examines whether the law has been...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oxford development studies 2015-10, Vol.43 (4), p.466-482
Main Author: Nandi, Arindam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abortion
Bans
Child abuse & neglect
Childbirth & labor
Discrimination
Family policy
Family size
Family structure
Females
Gender
Girls
Imbalance
India
Infant mortality
Infants
Law
Mortality rates
Newborn babies
Population economics
Postpartum period
Prenatal care
Selective abortion
Sex ratio
Sexism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:India has long struggled with persistent problems of sex-selective abortions and the neglect of female children. In 1996, the Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act was implemented to stop the practices of prenatal sex determination and selective abortions. This paper examines whether the law has been effective in reducing gender imbalance, and in turn potentially exacerbated post-natal discrimination against newborn girls. Using retrospective birth history data from the Indian District Level Household Survey (2002-2004), we exploit a natural experiment involving a variation in the timing of the law across states. We analyse the differential impact of the law on newborn sex ratios and infant mortality rates. Our findings indicate that the law significantly increased the likelihood of a female birth, improving female-to-male sex ratios at birth. We also find that it was generally associated with no change in the relative mortality of infant girls.
ISSN:1360-0818
1469-9966
DOI:10.1080/13600818.2014.973390