High sex ratio at birth and its implications in China

Xin Yuan, Australian National University
Jow-Ching Tu, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Sex ratio at birth (SRB) in China has been high but also increased continuously and dramatically since 1980s. The reported SRB in China was 107.2 in 1982 and rose to 116.9 in 2000. Our major findings include: SRB is normal in metropolises, in poorly developed provinces and in minority regions, but high in more developed provinces; the higher the parity is, the higher the SRB is; the SRB will maintain above normal level if couples are unable to achieve their ideal family size; prenatal test and sex-selective abortion are responsible for high SRB, even “missing girls” as an important element. High and rising SRB demographically implies that: the higher the SRB, the smaller the size of total population; delaying the timing of reaching population zero growth; increasing the person-years spending in labor force; favorable female marriage market; and difficult provisions for aged because of a sizable elderly males without descendants.