Female Early Marriage and Son Preference in Pakistan

Abstract

In this study, we employ pooled data from four rounds of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) to examine whether, and to what extent, does the incidence of early marriage shape the married women’s perspectives on gender preference associated with reproduction. We employ a number of econometric techniques (Probit, OLS, Cox Hazard Model, IV Probit and treatment effects) and a large set of model specifications, and find significant evidence supporting the role of early marriage in perpetuating disproportionate preference for boys. Women who married before turning 18 not only state a greater desire for boys but are also less likely to stop reproduction as long as they do not have a boy. Early-age marriage is associated with 7.7–12.5 per cent higher incidence of fertility discontinuation among women without a son. This son-preferring behaviour is stronger at higher birth order and also reflects in differential spacing patterns. Women’s education appears to be the strongest channel through which these effects are mediated. The divergence between early- and late-marrying women appears to have sharpened over time. The findings of this study underscore the role played by early marriage in altering the gender-specific attitudes prevalent in the society, and highlight existing gender inequality traps.

Keywords:

• Child marriage
• age at marriage
• gender bias
• son preference
• Pakistan

JEL CLASSIFICATION CODES:

• D13
• J13
• O15
• C13
• Z13

Acknowledgements

This study benefited from discussions with the participants of 2018 IRMAPE Research Seminar at Pau Business School, 2018 GDRI-IDE Symposium, Clermont-Ferrand, France, 2019 Canadian Economic Association (CEA) Conference, Banff, Canada, 2019 British Society for Population Studies (BSPS) Conference, Cardiff, UK, 2021 Baltic Economics Association (BEA) Conference, Tartu, Estonia, 2021 French Economic Association (AFSE) Conference, Lille, France, 2021 International Conference in Development Economics (ICDE), Bordeaux, France and the 2022 International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development, Moscow, Russia. Data and do files are available on request. We would like to thank the Co-Managing Editor Emmanuel Teitelbaum and the anonymous referees for their constructive feedback. All the errors in the paper are our own.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The same outcome would result if the two groups of women differed in terms of sex-selective abortion.

2 Results shown in the Online Supplementary File.

3 In Pakistan, child-birth generally occurs only in matrimony.

4 Results available in the Online Supplementary File.

5 Ibid.