Question

1. In some regions of India and China the ratio of boys to girls even higher than the national averages. A ratio of 110 boys to 100 girls is not uncommon. Ratios as high as 135 boys to 100 girls occurred in Guangdong, China and 126 boys to 100 girls in

Punjab, India.

(a) What are two ways in which this ratio of boys to girls could have occurred? (Assume that the natural ratio is 105 boys to 100 girls.)

(b) Consider the following fertility rule: families have children until they have one boy and then stop. How will this affect the average family size of families with girls? How do you know?

(c) Use the insight from part (b) to argue that in poor societies, girls might have a higher mortality rate than boys even if there is no discrimination beyond the

fertility rule.

Answer 1

a) There is a notion that boys will help the parents in future or in their older ages. This notion has created a lot of gaps in the ration of boys and girls. Moreover in many tribal areas girls are treated as a burden because the families have to give dowry for getting their daughters married. The poor families are not able to pay that much amount and it leads to female feticide.

b) Both India and China have a very high population rate. One of the main causes of this high number of population is the thinking of the people that heaving a boy child is mandatory. A family cannot survive without having a boy child. The people think that the boy will earn and treat the family in future and moreover he will be a source of earning a handsome amount as dowry when they get married. This thinking of the people is even today when people are thinking to go on different planets. This is also increasing the average size of the poor families who even work harder to earn their bread and butter. We can see a lot of families who in order to get a boy keep on delivering girl children.

c) There is seeing a high mortality rate of the girl child in poor families because the girl children are ill-treated and only the boy child is given priority over the girls. There are some families who only allow their boy child to attend the school. The negligence towards the girl child leads to higher mortality rate.