Sadia Priyanka (Connecticut College)
 

We examine the impact of a large-scale girls’ education program on son-biased fertility preferences and behavior. Exploiting exogenous variation in the duration of program exposure and geographical eligibility, we find that the program weakens stated son preference, but mainly for women who have already had a firstborn son. While changes in fertility-related behavior are consistent with weakening son bias, we still detect subtle efforts at the intensive margins to materialize the desire for a son. The decline in family size preference likely explains the observed fertility pattern. Our results highlight the limitations of education in modifying deeply entrenched gender norms.

More details about the seminar will be shared as the date approaches.