RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Where There Is a Will JF Journal of Human Resources JO J Hum Resour FD University of Wisconsin Press SP 393 OP 423 DO 10.3368/jhr.49.2.393 VO 49 IS 2 A1 Jain, Tarun YR 2014 UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/49/2/393.abstract AB This paper demonstrates that the social institutions of lineage maintenance, patrilocality, and joint families have a significant role in explaining sex differences in survival and health outcomes in rural India. Tests using panel data from rural households support this explanation, which accounts for 7 percent of excess female mortality in Haryana and Rajasthan and 4 percent in Punjab. An institutional explanation suggests limits on the role for public policy in addressing large sex differences in health and mortality outcomes.