Sex-selective Abortion Bans are Not Associated with Changes in Sex Ratios at Birth among Asian Populations in Illinois and Pennsylvania

Q3 Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Forum for Health Economics and Policy Pub Date : 2015-01-01 DOI:10.1515/fhep-2014-0018

Arindam Nandi, Sital Kalantry, B. Citro

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引用次数: 3

Abstract

Abstract Legal prohibitions on sex-selective abortions are proliferating in the United States. Eight state legislatures have banned abortions sought on the basis of the sex of the fetus, 21 states have considered such laws since 2009, and a similar bill is pending in U.S. Congress. These laws have been introduced and enacted without any empirical data about their impact or effectiveness. Prior studies of U.S. Census data found sex ratios among foreign-born Chinese, Korean and Indian immigrants were skewed in favor of boys, but only in families where there were already one or two girls. Using the variation in the timing of bans in Illinois and Pennsylvania as natural experiments, we compare the pre-ban and post-ban sex ratios of certain Asian newborn children in these states over 12-year periods. We then compare these ratios with the sex ratios of Asian newborn children in neighboring states during the same period. We find that the bans in Illinois and Pennsylvania are not associated with any changes in sex ratios at birth among Asians. In Illinois and its neighboring states, the sex ratio at birth of Asian children was not male-biased during our study period. On the other hand, the sex ratio at birth among Asians in Pennsylvania and its neighboring states was skewed slightly in favor of boys, but the enactment of the ban did not normalize the sex ratio. This strongly suggests that sex-selective abortion bans have had no impact on the practice of sex selection, to the extent that it occurs, in these states. This finding is highly relevant to legislative and policy debates in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures where sex-selective abortion laws are being considered.

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性别选择性堕胎禁令与伊利诺斯州和宾夕法尼亚州亚裔人口出生性别比变化无关

在美国，禁止性别选择性堕胎的法律正在激增。八个州的立法机构已经禁止基于胎儿性别的堕胎，自2009年以来，已有21个州考虑过此类法律，美国国会也正在审议一项类似的法案。这些法律是在没有任何关于其影响或有效性的经验数据的情况下提出和颁布的。先前对美国人口普查数据的研究发现，在外国出生的中国、韩国和印度移民中，性别比例倾向于男孩，但仅限于已经有一两个女孩的家庭。利用伊利诺斯州和宾夕法尼亚州禁令时间的变化作为自然实验，我们比较了禁令前和禁令后这些州某些亚洲新生儿在12年期间的性别比例。然后，我们将这些比率与同期邻国亚洲新生儿的性别比率进行比较。我们发现伊利诺斯州和宾夕法尼亚州的禁令与亚洲出生性别比的任何变化无关。在我们的研究期间，在伊利诺斯州及其邻近州，亚裔儿童出生时的性别比例并没有出现男性偏倚。另一方面，宾夕法尼亚州及其邻近州的亚裔出生性别比略微偏向男孩，但该禁令的颁布并没有使性别比例正常化。这强烈表明，性别选择性堕胎禁令对性别选择的实践没有影响，就这些州发生的情况而言。这一发现与正在考虑性别选择性堕胎法的美国国会和州立法机构的立法和政策辩论高度相关。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Forum for Health Economics and Policy Economics, Econometrics and Finance-Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)

CiteScore

1.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Forum for Health Economics & Policy (FHEP) showcases articles in key substantive areas that lie at the intersection of health economics and health policy. The journal uses an innovative structure of forums to promote discourse on the most pressing and timely subjects in health economics and health policy, such as biomedical research and the economy, and aging and medical care costs. Forums are chosen by the Editorial Board to reflect topics where additional research is needed by economists and where the field is advancing rapidly. The journal is edited by Katherine Baicker, David Cutler and Alan Garber of Harvard University, Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University, Dana Goldman of the University of Southern California and RAND Corporation, Neeraj Sood of the University of Southern California, Anup Malani and Tomas Philipson of University of Chicago, Pinar Karaca Mandic of the　University of Minnesota, and John Romley of the University of Southern California. FHEP is sponsored by the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California. A subscription to the journal also includes the proceedings from the National Bureau of Economic Research''s annual Frontiers in Health Policy Research Conference. Topics: Economics, Political economics, Biomedical research and the economy, Aging and medical care costs, Nursing, Cancer studies, Medical treatment, Others related.