Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
    • Free Issue
    • Special Issues
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
    • Alerts
  • Announcements
  • Special Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UW Press Journals

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UW Press Journals
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
    • Supplementary Material
    • Free Issue
    • Special Issues
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • Connect
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Request JHR at your library
    • Alerts
  • Announcements
  • Special Issue
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
  • Follow JHR on Bluesky
Research ArticleArticles

Can Abortion Mitigate Transitory Shocks? Demographic Consequences under Son Preference

Jaehyun Jung
Published online before print November 07, 2023, 0320-10808R3; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0320-10808R3
Jaehyun Jung
†Jaehyun Jung is an assistant professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea 03760. Email:
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: jjung6{at}ewha.ac.kr
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

References

    1. Almond, Douglas,
    2. Hongbin Li, and
    3. Shuang Zhang
    . 2019. “Land Reform and Sex Selection in China.” Journal of Political Economy 127(2):560–85.
    OpenUrl
    1. Ananat, Elizabeth Oltmans,
    2. Jonathan Gruber,
    3. Phillip B. Levine, and
    4. Douglas Staiger
    . 2009. “Abortion and Selection.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 91(1):124–36.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Anttila-Hughes, Jesse Keith, and
    2. Solomon M. Hsiang
    . 2013. “Destruction, Disinvestment, and Death: Economic and Human Losses Following Environmental Disaster.” SSRN Electronic Journal 2220501.
    1. Artadi, Elsa V.
    2005. “Going into Labor: Earnings vs. Infant Survival in Rural Africa.” Working Paper, Harvard University.
    1. Auffhammer, Maximilian,
    2. V. Ramanathan, and
    3. Jeffrey R. Vincent
    . 2012. “Climate Change, the Monsoon, and Rice Yield in India.” Climatic Change 111(2):411–24.
    OpenUrl
    1. Becker, Gary S.
    1960. “An Economic Analysis of Fertility.” In Universities-National Bureau Committee for Economic Research, Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
    1. Bélanger, Danièle, and
    2. Khuat Thi Hai Oanh
    . 2009. “Second-Trimester Abortions and Sex-Selection of Children in Hanoi, Vietnam.” Population Studies 63(2):163–71.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
    1. Behrman, Jere R.
    1988. “Intrahousehold Allocation of Nutrients in Rural India: Are Boys Favored? Do Parents Exhibit Inequality Aversion?” Oxford Economic Papers 40(1):32–54.
    OpenUrlWeb of Science
    1. Bhalotra, Sonia, and
    2. Tom Cochrane
    . 2010. “Where Have All the Young Girls Gone? Identification of Sex Selection in India.” IZA Discussion Paper No. 5381.
    1. Bharadwaj, Prashant, and
    2. Leah K. Lakdawala
    . 2013. “Discrimination Begins in the Womb: Evidence of Sex-Selective Prenatal Investments.” Journal of Human Resources 48(1):71–113.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Bhattacharya, Jayanta,
    2. Thomas DeLeire,
    3. Steven Haider, and
    4. Janet Currie
    . 2003. “Heat or Eat? Cold-Weather Shocks and Nutrition in Poor American Families.” American Journal of Public Health 93(7):1149–54.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    1. Black, Dan A.,
    2. Natalia Kolesnikova,
    3. Seth G. Sanders, and
    4. Lowell J. Taylor
    . 2013. “Are Children “Normal”?” The Review of Economics and Statistics 95(1):21–33.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
    1. Bongaarts, John, and
    2. Christophe Z. Guilmoto
    . 2015. “How Many More Missing Women? Excess Female Mortality and Prenatal Sex Selection, 1970-2050.” Population and Development Review 41(2):241–69.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Burke, Marshall,
    2. Erick Gong, and
    3. Kelly Jones
    . 2015. “Income Shocks and HIV in Africa.” The Economic Journal 125(585):1157–89.
    OpenUrl
    1. Cameron, Elissa Z.
    2004. “Facultative Adjustment of Mammalian Sex Ratios in Support of the Trivers-Willard Hypothesis: Evidence for a Mechanism.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 271(1549):1723–28.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    1. Chatterjee, Shoumitro, and
    2. Tom Vogl
    . 2018. “Escaping Malthus: Economic Growth and Fertility Change in the Developing World.” American Economic Review 108(6):1440–67.
    OpenUrl
    1. Chen, Yuyu,
    2. Hongbin Li, and
    3. Lingsheng Meng
    . 2013. “Prenatal Sex Selection and Missing Girls in China: Evidence from the Diffusion of Diagnostic Ultrasound.” Journal of Human Resources 48(1):36–70.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  1. Committee for Population, Family and Children/Vietnam, and ORC Macro. 2003. Vietnam Demographic and Health Survey 2002. Calverton, Maryland, USA: Committee for Population, Family and Children and ORC Macro.
    1. Corno, Lucia,
    2. Nicole Hildebrandt, and
    3. Alessandra Voena
    . 2020. “Age of Marriage, Weather Shocks, and the Direction of Marriage Payments.” Econometrica 88(3):879–915.
    OpenUrl
    1. Currie, Janet, and
    2. Hannes Schwandt
    . 2014. “Short- and Long-Term Effects of Unemployment on Fertility.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111(41):14734–39.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Das Gupta, Monica,
    2. Jiang Zhenghua,
    3. Li Bohua,
    4. Xie Zhenming,
    5. Woojin Chung, and
    6. Bae Hwa-Ok
    . 2003. “Why Is Son Preference So Persistent in East and South Asia? A Cross-Country Study of China, India and the Republic of Korea.” The Journal of Development Studies 40(2): 153–87.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Dehejia, Rajeev, and
    2. Adriana Lleras-Muney
    . 2004. “Booms, Busts, and Babies’ Health.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 119(3):1091–1130.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Dell, Melissa,
    2. Benjamin F. Jones, and
    3. Benjamin A. Olken
    . 2014. “What Do We Learn from the Weather? The New Climate-Economy Literature.” Journal of Economic Literature 52(3):740–98.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Dercon, Stefan.
    2002. “Income Risk, Coping Strategies, and Safety Nets.” The World Bank Research Observer 17(2):141–66.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Dettling, Lisa J., and
    2. Melissa S. Kearney
    . 2014. “House Prices and Birth Rates: The Impact of the Real Estate Market on the Decision to Have a Baby.” Journal of Public Economics 110: 82–100.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Dyson, Tim.
    1993. “Demographic Responses To Famines In South Asia.” IDS Bulletin 24(4):17–26.
    OpenUrl
    1. Ebenstein, Avraham.
    2010. “The ‘Missing Girls’ of China and the Unintended Consequences of the One Child Policy.” Journal of Human Resources 45(1):87–115.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Edlund, Lena,
    2. Hongbin Li,
    3. Junjian Yi, and
    4. Junsen Zhang
    . 2013. “Sex Ratios and Crime: Evidence from China.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 95(5):1520–34.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Ejrnæs, Mette, and
    2. Thomas H. Jørgensen
    . 2020. “Family Planning in a Life-cycle Model with Income Risk.” Journal of Applied Econometrics 35(5):567–86.
    OpenUrl
    1. Funk, Chris,
    2. Pete Peterson,
    3. Martin Landsfeld,
    4. Diego Pedreros,
    5. James Verdin,
    6. Shraddhanand Shukla,
    7. Gregory Husak,
    8. James Rowland,
    9. Laura Harrison,
    10. Andrew Hoell, and
    11. Joel Michaelsen
    . 2015. “The Climate Hazards Infrared Precipitation with Stations—a New Environmental Record for Monitoring Extremes.” Scientific Data 2 (1): 150066.
    OpenUrl
    1. Gammeltoft, Tine, and
    2. Hanh Thi Thuy Nguyen
    . 2007. “The Commodification of Obstetric Ultrasound Scanning in Hanoi, Viet Nam.” Reproductive Health Matters 15(29):163–71.
    OpenUrlPubMed
    1. Gibson, John, and
    2. Bonggeun Kim
    . 2013. “Quality, Quantity, and Nutritional Impacts of Rice Price Changes in Vietnam.” World Development 43:329–40.
    OpenUrl
    1. Glewwe, Paul,
    2. Nisha Agrawal, and
    3. David Dollar
    , eds. 2004. Economic Growth, Poverty, and Household Welfare in Vietnam. Washington, DC: World Bank.
    1. Goldin, Claudia.
    1995. “The U-Shaped Female Labor Force Function in Economic Development and Economic History.” In Investment in Women’s Human Capital and Economic Development, ed. T. Paul Schultz, 61–90. University of Chicago Press.
    1. Goodkind, Daniel.
    1996. “On Substituting Sex Preference Strategies in East Asia: Does Prenatal Sex Selection Reduce Postnatal Discrimination?” Population and Development Review 22(1):111–25.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Gröger, André, and
    2. Yanos Zylberberg
    . 2016. “Internal Labor Migration as a Shock Coping Strategy: Evidence from a Typhoon.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 8(2):123–53.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Guilmoto, Christophe Z.,
    2. Xuyen Hoàng, and
    3. Toan Ngo Van
    . 2009. “Recent Increase in Sex Ratio at Birth in Viet Nam.” PLoS ONE 4(2):e4624.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
    1. Guiteras, Raymond,
    2. Amir Jina, and
    3. A. Mushfiq Mobarak
    . 2015. “Satellites, Self-Reports, and Submersion: Exposure to Floods in Bangladesh.” American Economic Review 105(5):232–36.
    OpenUrl
    1. Heckman, James J., and
    2. James R. Walker
    . 1990. “The Relationship Between Wages and Income and the Timing and Spacing of Births: Evidence from Swedish Longitudinal Data.” Econometrica 58(6):1411.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Hou, Xiaohui.
    2010. “Can Drought Increase Total Calorie Availability? The Impact of Drought on Food Consumption and the Mitigating Effects of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 58(4):713–37.
    OpenUrl
  2. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2014. Climate Change 2014 – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: Part B: Regional Aspects: Working Group II Contribution to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    1. Jayachandran, Seema.
    2006. “Selling Labor Low: Wage Responses to Productivity Shocks in Developing Countries.” Journal of Political Economy 114(3):538–75.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Jayachandran, Seema.
    2015. “The Roots of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries.” Annual Review of Economics 7(1):63–88.
    OpenUrl
    1. Jayachandran, Seema.
    2017. “Fertility Decline and Missing Women.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 9(1):118–39.
    OpenUrl
    1. Kaur, Supreet.
    2019. “Nominal Wage Rigidity in Village Labor Markets.” American Economic Review 109(10):3585–3616.
    OpenUrl
    1. Ledesma, Bernardita.
    2016. Vietnam-Agricultural Modernization Transforming Vietnamese Agriculture: Gaining More for Less. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.
    1. Levine, Phillip B., and
    2. Douglas Staiger
    . 2004. “Abortion Policy and Fertility Outcomes: The Eastern European Experience.” The Journal of Law and Economics 47(1):223–43.
    OpenUrl
    1. Lindo, Jason M.
    2010. “Are Children Really Inferior Goods?: Evidence from Displacement-Driven Income Shocks.” Journal of Human Resources 45(2):301–27.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Lobell, David B., and
    2. Christopher B. Field
    . 2007. “Global Scale Climate-Crop Yield Relationships and the Impacts of Recent Warming.” Environmental Research Letters 2(1):014002.
    OpenUrl
    1. Lohmann, Steffen, and
    2. Tobias Lechtenfeld
    . 2015. “The Effect of Drought on Health Outcomes and Health Expenditures in Rural Vietnam.” World Development 72:432–48.
    OpenUrl
    1. Lovenheim, Michael F., and
    2. Kevin J. Mumford
    . 2013. “Do Family Wealth Shocks Affect Fertility Choices? Evidence from the Housing Market.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 95(2):464–75.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Maccini, Sharon, and
    2. Dean Yang
    . 2009. “Under the Weather: Health, Schooling, and Economic Consequences of Early-Life Rainfall.” American Economic Review 99(3):1006–26.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Mathews, Fiona,
    2. Paul J. Johnson, and
    3. Andrew Neil
    . 2008. “You Are What Your Mother Eats: Evidence for Maternal Preconception Diet Influencing Foetal Sex in Humans.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 275(1643):1661–68.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  3. PATH and Reproductive Health Department. 2006. “Examining the Cost of Providing Medical Abortion in Vietnam.” Hanoi, Vietnam: Ministry of Health.
    1. Paxson, Christina H.
    1992. “Using Weather Variability to Estimate the Response of Savings to Transitory Income in Thailand.” American Economic Review 82(1):15–33.
    OpenUrlWeb of Science
    1. Pham, Bang Nguyen,
    2. Wayne Hall,
    3. Peter S. Hill, and
    4. Chalapati Rao
    . 2008. “Analysis of Socio-Political and Health Practices Influencing Sex Ratio at Birth in Viet Nam.” Reproductive Health Matters 16(32):176–84.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    1. Pitt, Mark M., and
    2. Wendy Sigle
    . 1997. “Seasonality, Weather Shocks and the Timing of Births and Child Mortality in Senegal.” Unpublished Manuscript.
    1. Pop-Eleches, Cristian.
    2006. “The Impact of an Abortion Ban on Socioeconomic Outcomes of Children: Evidence from Romania.” Journal of Political Economy 114(4):744–73.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Rose, Elaina.
    1999. “Consumption Smoothing and Excess Female Mortality in Rural India.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 81(1):41–49.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Schultz, T. Paul.
    1985. “Changing World Prices, Women’s Wages, and the Fertility Transition: Sweden, 1860-1910.” Journal of Political Economy 93(6):1126–54.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    1. Sedgh, Gilda,
    2. Jonathan Bearak,
    3. Susheela Singh,
    4. Akinrinola Bankole,
    5. Anna Popinchalk,
    6. Bela Ganatra,
    7. Clementine Rossier,
    8. Akinrinola Bankole,
    9. Anna Popinchalk,
    10. Bela Ganatra,
    11. Clémentine Rossier,
    12. Caitlin Gerdts,
    13. Özge Tunçalp,
    14. Brooke Ronald Johnson Jr.,
    15. Heidi Bart Johnston, and
    16. Leontine Alkema
    . 2016. “Abortion Incidence between 1990 and 2014: Global, Regional, and Subregional Levels and Trends.” The Lancet 388(10041):258–67.
    OpenUrl
    1. Sedgh, Gilda,
    2. Stanley K. Henshaw,
    3. Susheela Singh,
    4. Akinrinola Bankole, and
    5. Joanna Drescher
    . 2007. “Legal Abortion Worldwide: Incidence and Recent Trends.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 39(4):216–25.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
    1. Shah, Manisha, and
    2. Bryce Millett Steinberg
    . 2017. “Drought of Opportunities: Contemporaneous and Long-Term Impacts of Rainfall Shocks on Human Capital.” Journal of Political Economy 125(2):527–61.
    OpenUrl
    1. Sobotka, Tomas,
    2. Vegard Skirbekk, and
    3. Dimiter Philipov
    . 2011. “Economic Recession and Fertility in the Developed World.” Population and Development Review 37(2):267–306.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
    1. Teerawichitchainan, Bussarawan, and
    2. Sajeda Amin
    . 2010. “The Role of Abortion in the Last Stage of Fertility Decline in Vietnam.” International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 36(2):80–82.
    OpenUrl
    1. Townsend, Robert M.
    1994. “Risk and Insurance in Village India.” Econometrica 62 (3): 539–91.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Whittaker, Andrea
    , ed. 2010. Abortion in Asia: Local Dilemmas, Global Politics. New York: Berghahn Books.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources: 61 (2)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 61, Issue 2
1 Mar 2026
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Cover (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Can Abortion Mitigate Transitory Shocks? Demographic Consequences under Son Preference
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
Can Abortion Mitigate Transitory Shocks? Demographic Consequences under Son Preference
Jaehyun Jung
Journal of Human Resources Nov 2023, 0320-10808R3; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0320-10808R3

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Can Abortion Mitigate Transitory Shocks? Demographic Consequences under Son Preference
Jaehyun Jung
Journal of Human Resources Nov 2023, 0320-10808R3; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0320-10808R3
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Supplemental
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Testing Attrition Bias in Field Experiments
  • Impact of Raising the Retirement Age on Firms
  • Hours Constraints and Wage Differentials Across Firms
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • D1
  • I15
  • J13
  • J16
  • Q54
  • Abortion
  • Fertility
  • Weather shock
  • Son preference
  • Sex selection
UW Press logo

© 2026 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire