Does women's education improve the sex ratio at birth? Gender, agency and sex-selective abortion in South and East Asia: a critical literature review

Abstract

The increasingly skewed sex ratio at birth, a result of son preference and sex-selective abortions, is a pressing concern in development. It appears that many aspects of development (such as economic growth, technological development, and women's increasing economic independence and voice) are occurring alongside a growing number of ‘missing’ girls and women, with various adverse social and economic consequences.

A perplexing dimension is that women's education apparently has no clear relationship to the sex ratio at birth, and in some contexts appears to increase the propensity for sex selection. However, so far, studies have tended to use basic measures such as level or years of education, which do not explain whether and how educational experience affects traditional patriarchal norms and the relative value afforded to boys and girls. Drawing on a capabilities perspective on education, this article argues for a more nuanced concept of agency (which incorporates social structures and norms), and the need to integrate critical perspectives on the relationship between education, agency and empowerment. Finally, it makes a case for innovative measures of gender and education, which would allow comprehensive empirical exploration of how different forms of education affect women's capabilities and agency in relation to sex selection.