New evidence on son preference among immigrant households in the United States

Huiqiong Duan; Daniel L. Hicks

Open Access

New evidence on son preference among immigrant households in the United States

Huiqiong Duan

and

Daniel L. Hicks

| Aug 17, 2020

IZA Journal of Development and Migration

Volume 11 (2020): Issue 1 (January 2020)

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/izajodm-2020-0014

Keywords
son preference, immigrants, assimilation

© 2020 Huiqiong Duan, Daniel L. Hicks, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Son preference—fertility timing; regression adjusted means with confidence intervals

Son preference—male births, regression adjusted means with confidence intervals

Son preference among first-generation immigrants from Asia (recent ACS sample)

Dep var.	Fertility			Male child
Dep var.	2nd child born (1)	3rd child born (2)	3rd child born (3)	2nd child born (4)	3rd child born (5)	3rd child born (6)
China
All girls	0.043***	0.079***	0.064***	0.009	0.065***	0.061***
	(0.013)	(0.017)	(0.019)	(0.012)	(0.014)	(0.015)
Mix			−0.023 (0.015)			−0.006 (0.011)
Japan

All girls	−0.036	0.002	−0.04	−0.024	0.003	−0.031
	(0.027)	(0.039)	(0.045)	(0.025)	(0.031)	(0.037)
Mix			−0.068*			−0.054*
			(0.037)			(0.030)
Korea

All girls	0.016	0.027	−0.003	0.012	0.014	0.012
	−0.018	−0.025	−0.03	−0.018	−0.018	−0.022
Mix			−0.046*			−0.002
			(0.024)			(0.018)
Philippines

All girls	0.013	0.043**	0.029	0	0.016	0.013
	(0.014)	(0.020)	(0.024)	(0.013)	(0.016)	(0.019)
Mix			−0.021			−0.005
			(0.020)			(0.016)
Vietnam

All girls	0.034**	0.094***	0.069**	0	0.056***	0.042*
	(0.017)	(0.023)	(0.027)	(0.017)	(0.019)	(0.023)
Mix			−0.040*			−0.022
			(0.022)			(0.018)
India

All girls	0.029***	0.037***	0.027***	0.011	0.029***	0.021**
	(0.009)	(0.008)	(0.010)	(0.008)	(0.007)	(0.008)
Mix			−0.016**			−0.013**
			(0.008)			(0.006)

The acquisition of son preference beliefs over the life cycle

	Fertility (1)	Male child (2)
2nd Child Born
All girls	−0.008	−0.018**
	(0.009)	(0.008)
Arrived at age 9+	−0.110***	−0.060***
	(0.006)	(0.006)
All girls*arrived at age 9+	0.021**	0.027***
	(0.009)	(0.008)
Observations	136,931	136,931
3rd Child Born

All girls	−0.020	0.001
	(0.014)	(0.012)
Arrived at age 9+	−0.138***	−0.066***
	(0.011)	(0.008)
All girls*arrived at age 9+	0.065***	0.028**
	(0.015)	(0.012)
Mix	−0.084***	−0.037***
	(0.012)	(0.010)
Mix*arrived at age 9+	0.060***	0.022**
	(0.013)	(0.010)
Observations	75,280	75,280

ACS sample summary statistics

Panel A: Demographics	Mean	SD
Household size	3.99	0.98
Family income	98,810	89,883
Mother in labor force	0.62	0.49
Mother’s age at marriage	27.87	5.86
Mother’s age of first birth	26.61	4.74
Mother’s education high school and above	0.93	0.25
Mother’s education bachelor’s degree and above	0.46	0.5
Father in labor force	0.92	0.27
Father’s education high school and above	0.89	0.31
Father’s education bachelor’s degree and above	0.39	0.49
Panel B: Country of Birth/Ancestry

First-generation immigrants	0.21	0.41
Year of migration	2000.7	9.68
Immigrants from East, SE Asian countries and regions	0.07	0.26
Immigrants from China	0.01	0.1
Immigrants from Japan	0.003	0.05
Immigrants from Korea	0.01	0.07
Immigrants from the Philippines	0.01	0.1
Immigrants from Vietnam	0.01	0.08
Immigrants from India	0.02	0.15
Higher-order generation immigrants (SE Asian countries)	0.02	0.14
Panel C: Household Fertility

Number of children	1.91	0.89
% of household with all girls	0.3	0.46
% of household with all boys	0.32	0.47
% of household with mix	0.38	0.49

Son preference in the United States

Dep var.	Fertility			Male child
Dep var.	2nd child born (1)	3rd child born (2)	3rd child born (3)	2nd child male (4)	3rd child male (5)	3rd child male (6)
Full Sample
All girls	−0.002	0.032***	−0.004	−0.005***	0.019***	−0.003
	(0.001)	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.001)	(0.002)	(0.002)
Mix			-0.056***			−0.035***
			(0.002)			(0.002)
Native-Born

All girls	−0.004***	0.030***	−0.008***	−0.005***	0.018***	−0.005***
	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.003)	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)
Mix			-0.060***			−0.037***
			(0.002)			(0.002)
First-generation Immigrants

All girls	0.006**	0.038***	0.014***	−0.002	0.023***	0.008**
	(0.003)	(0.004)	(0.005)	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.004)
Mix			−0.039***			−0.024***
			(0.004)			(0.003)
First-generation Immigrants from Countries other than South East Asia

All girls	−0.002	0.034***	0.007	−0.005	0.019***	0.002
	(0.004)	(0.005)	(0.006)	(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.005)
Mix			−0.042***			−0.026***
			(0.005)			(0.004)
South East Asian Immigrants

All girls	0.023***	0.050***	0.031***	0.005	0.035***	0.024***
	(0.005)	(0.006)	(0.008)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.006)
Mix			−0.029***			−0.017***
			(0.006)			(0.005)

Child gender and mother’s marital status

	Full sample	Natives	First-generation immigrants	Non-South East Asian immigrants	South East Asian immigrants
All girls	0.005***	0.006***	0.003**	0.003***	0.002
	(0.000)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)
Number of observations	1,112,703	874,581	249,433	171,255	78,178

The intergenerational transmission of son preference (recent ACS sample)

Dep var.	Fertility			Male child
Dep var.	2nd child born (1)	3rd child born (2)	3rd child born (3)	2nd child male (4)	3rd child male (5)	3rd child male (6)
SE Asian
All girls	0.01	0.046***	0.018	−0.003	0.019*	−0.007
	(0.010)	(0.014)	(0.016)	(0.009)	(0.011)	(0.013)
Mix			−0.045***			−0.041***
			(0.013)			(0.011)
China

All girls	0.015	0.036	−0.007	0.007	0.028	0.002
	(0.021)	(0.029)	(0.035)	(0.020)	(0.025)	(0.029)
Mix			−0.068**			−0.041*
			(0.029)			(0.023)
Korea

All girls	−0.002	0.105**	0.046	−0.001	0.074**	0.023
	(0.030)	(0.042)	(0.052)	(0.028)	(0.033)	(0.041)
Mix			−0.090**			−0.078**
			(0.041)			(0.033)
Philippines

All girls	0.005	0.061**	0.049	−0.003	0.009	−0.02
	(0.019)	(0.027)	(0.032)	(0.018)	(0.021)	(0.025)
Mix			−0.018			−0.046**
			(0.026)			(0.021)
Vietnam

All girls	0.018	0.073	0.005	0.051	−0.031	−0.071
	(0.042)	(0.066)	(0.077)	(0.040)	(0.051)	(0.062)
Mix			−0.098*			−0.057
			(0.057)			(0.051)
India

All girls	0.035	0.088**	0.109***	−0.029	0.058**	0.076***
	(0.027)	(0.035)	(0.040)	(0.025)	(0.027)	(0.028)
Mix			0.032			0.028
			(0.033)			(0.021)

Son preference by maternal country of origin

Dep var.	Fertility			Male child
Dep var.	2nd child born (1)	3rd child born (2)	3rd child born (3)	2nd child born (4)	3rd child born (5)	3rd child born (6)
Chinese
All girls	0.012*	0.080***	0.069***	0.004	0.057***	0.050***
	(0.006)	(0.008)	(0.009)	(0.005)	(0.006)	(0.007)
Mix			−0.018***			−0.010*
			(0.007)			(0.005)
Japanese

All girls	−0.020*	0.009	−0.030*	−0.017*	0.002	−0.013
	(0.011)	(0.014)	(0.017)	(0.010)	(0.011)	(0.014)
Mix			−0.061***			−0.023*
			(0.015)			(0.012)
Korean

All girls	0.012	0.066***	0.040***	0.007	0.033***	0.015*
	(0.007)	(0.009)	(0.011)	(0.007)	(0.007)	(0.009)
Mix			−0.041***			−0.027***
			(0.009)			(0.007)
Philippine

All girls	0.007	0.042***	0.024**	0.002	0.028***	0.016*
	(0.006)	(0.008)	(0.010)	(0.005)	(0.007)	(0.008)
Mix			−0.029***			−0.018***
			(0.008)			(0.007)
Vietnamese

All girls	0.010	0.057***	0.026**	0.005	0.024***	0.003
	(0.007)	(0.010)	(0.012)	(0.007)	(0.008)	(0.010)
Mix			−0.047***			−0.032***
			(0.010)			(0.008)
Indian

All girls	0.018***	0.068***	0.056***	0.017***	0.048***	0.045***
	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.006)	(0.004)	(0.005)	(0.005)
Mix			−0.017***			−0.004
			(0.005)			(0.004)

Fertility change regressions in the United States with covariates shown

	Full sample	Natives	First-generation immigrants	Non-SE Asian immigrants	SE Asian immigrants
All girls	−0.002	−0.004***	0.006**	−0.002	0.023***
	(0.001)	(0.002)	(0.003)	(0.004)	(0.005)
Mother’s education high school	−0.090***	−0.092***	−0.081***	−0.079***	−0.080***
and above	(0.003)	(0.004)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.012)
Mother’s education bachelor’s	−0.053***	−0.046***	−0.087***	−0.056***	−0.094***
degree and above	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.004)	(0.005)	(0.007)
Mother’s age at marriage	−0.015***	−0.017***	−0.009***	−0.009***	−0.009***
	(0.001)	(0.001)	0.000	0.000	(0.001)
Family income	0.000***	0.000***	0.000***	0.000***	0.000***
	(0.001)	(0.001)	0.000	0.000	(0.001)
Father’s education high school	−0.007***	−0.002	−0.020***	−0.021***	0.016
and above	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.012)
Father’s education bachelor’s	0.011***	0.022***	−0.025***	0.015***	−0.043***
degree and above	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.004)	(0.005)	(0.007)
Male Household	0.011***	0.004**	0.024***	0.014***	0.019***
	(0.001)	(0.002)	(0.003)	(0.004)	(0.006)
Mother’s age	0.023***	0.024***	0.019***	0.015***	0.030***
	(0.001)	(0.001)	0.000	0.000	(0.001)
Constant	0.227***	0.396***	0.282***	0.399***	−0.03
	(0.019)	(0.018)	(0.065)	(0.075)	(0.139)
Number of observations	480,360	383,683	101,310	66,718	34,592

Marriage patterns

Spouse’s birthplace or ancestry	First-generation immigrants
Spouse’s birthplace or ancestry	China	Japan	Korea	Philippines	Vietnam	India
First-generation immigrants
China	0.77	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.02	0.01
Japan	0.01	0.38	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.00
Korea	0.01	0.01	0.65	0.00	0.00	0.00
Philippines	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.61	0.00	0.00
Vietnam	0.02	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.82	0.00
India	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.92
Higher-order generation immigrants

China	0.11	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.02	0.00
Japan	0.01	0.03	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.00
Korea	0.01	0.00	0.13	0.01	0.01	0.00
Philippines	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.12	0.00	0.00
Vietnam	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.24	0.00
India	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.33

Son preference and parental background

Dep var.	Has 3rd child				3rd child is male
Dep var.	Main sample (1)	Asian mom and dad (2)	Asian mom and non-Asian dad (3)	Asian dad and non-Asian mom (4)	Main sample (5)	Asian mom and dad (6)	Asian mom and non-Asian dad (7)	Asian dad and non-Asian mom (8)
Chinese
All girls	0.069***	0.090***	0.003	−0.038	0.050***	0.068***	0.006	−0.015
	(0.009)	(0.010)	(0.032)	(0.060)	(0.007)	(0.008)	(0.025)	(0.048)
N	13,301	10,456	1,172	491	13,301	10,456	1,172	491
Japanese

All girls	−0.030*	−0.064***	−0.011	−0.092*	−0.013	−0.037*	0.008	−0.083*
	(0.017)	(0.025)	(0.028)	(0.055)	(0.014)	(0.020)	(0.022)	(0.044)
N	4,267	2,067	1,708	545	4,267	2,067	1,708	545
Korean

All girls	0.040***	0.053***	0.004	−0.009	0.015*	0.026**	−0.015	0.039
	(0.011)	(0.013)	(0.024)	(0.061)	(0.009)	(0.010)	(0.019)	(0.049)
N	10,368	6,976	2,546	536	10,368	6,976	2,546	536
Philippine

All girls	0.024**	0.036***	−0.001	−0.017	0.016*	0.026**	0.005	0.069**
	(0.010)	(0.013)	(0.018)	(0.037)	(0.008)	(0.011)	(0.015)	(0.032)
N	15,092	8,872	4,474	1,320	15,092	8,872	4,474	1,320
Vietnamese

All girls	0.026**	0.027*	−0.003	0.105	0.003	0.002	−0.001	0.065
	(0.012)	(0.014)	(0.042)	(0.069)	(0.010)	(0.011)	(0.034)	(0.057)
N	10,264	8,406	937	431	10,264	8,406	937	431
Indian

All girls	0.056***	0.057***	−0.069	0.020	0.045***	0.048***	−0.046	0.068*
	(0.006)	(0.007)	(0.062)	(0.047)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.055)	(0.036)
N	19,890	18,422	397	724	19,890	18,422	397	724

The intergenerational persistence of son preference

Dep var.	Fertility			Male child
Dep var.	2nd child born (1)	3rd child born (2)	3rd child born (3)	2nd child male (4)	3rd child male (5)	3rd child male (6)
SE Asian
All girls	−0.003	0.025***	−0.008	−0.002	0.017**	−0.004
	(0.007)	(0.009)	(0.011)	(0.007)	(0.007)	(0.009)
Mix			−0.052***			−0.032***
			(0.009)			(0.007)
Chinese

All girls	−0.012	−0.010	−0.044**	−0.002	−0.002	−0.025
	(0.012)	(0.016)	(0.020)	(0.011)	(0.013)	(0.016)
Mix			−0.053***			−0.035***
			(0.017)			(0.013)
Japanese

All girls	0.000	0.020	−0.028	0.013	0.023*	0.008
	(0.011)	(0.015)	(0.018)	(0.011)	(0.012)	(0.015)
Mix			−0.073***			−0.024**
			(0.015)			(0.012)
Korean

All girls	−0.020	0.075***	0.059*	−0.024	0.054**	0.045*
	(0.020)	(0.026)	(0.032)	(0.018)	(0.021)	(0.025)
Mix			−0.025			−0.014
			(0.026)			(0.020)
Philippine

All girls	−0.004	0.042***	0.014	0.005	0.018	0.001
	(0.011)	(0.016)	(0.019)	(0.010)	(0.012)	(0.015)
Mix			−0.042***			−0.027**
			(0.015)			(0.013)
Vietnamese

All girls	0.024	0.034	−0.011	0.013	0.001	−0.027
	(0.030)	(0.044)	(0.053)	(0.027)	(0.037)	(0.045)
Mix			−0.069*			−0.042
			(0.041)			(0.034)
Indian

All girls	0.026	0.068***	0.062**	−0.003	0.040**	0.032
	(0.019)	(0.025)	(0.029)	(0.018)	(0.019)	(0.022)
Mix			−0.010			−0.012
			(0.025)			(0.018)

Summary statistics

Panel A: Demographics	Mean	SD
Household size	4.09	1.27
Family income	25,120	25,341
Mother in labor force	0.97	0.18
Mother’s age at marriage	25.68	3.87
Mother’s age of first birth	27.73	4.39
Mother’s education high school and above	0.90	0.30
Mother’s education bachelor’s degree and above	0.54	0.50
Father in labor force	0.97	0.18
Father’s education high school and above	0.91	0.29
Father’s education bachelor’s degree and above	0.57	0.49
Panel B: Country of Birth/Ancestry

First-generation immigrants	0.74	0.44
Year of migration	1992	11.98
Immigrants from East, SE Asian countries and regions	0.70	0.46
Immigrants from China	0.13	0.34
Immigrants from Japan	0.04	0.19
Immigrants from Korea	0.09	0.29
Immigrants from the Philippines	0.14	0.34
Immigrants from Vietnam	0.09	0.28
Immigrants from India	0.20	0.40
Higher-order generation immigrants (SE Asian countries)	0.10	0.30
Panel C: Household Fertility

Number of children	1.72	0.76
% of household with all girls	0.33	0.47
% of household with all boys	0.35	0.48
% of household with mix	0.32	0.47

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New evidence on son preference among immigrant households in the United States

Published Online: Aug 17, 2020

Page range: -

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/izajodm-2020-0014

Keywords
son preference, immigrants, assimilation

© 2020 Huiqiong Duan, Daniel L. Hicks, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1A

Figure 1B

Figure 2

Figure 3

Son preference among first-generation immigrants from Asia (recent ACS sample)

The acquisition of son preference beliefs over the life cycle

ACS sample summary statistics

Son preference in the United States

Child gender and mother’s marital status

The intergenerational transmission of son preference (recent ACS sample)

Son preference by maternal country of origin

Fertility change regressions in the United States with covariates shown

Marriage patterns

Son preference and parental background

The intergenerational persistence of son preference

Summary statistics

New evidence on son preference among immigrant households in the United States

Published Online: Aug 17, 2020

Page range: -

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/izajodm-2020-0014

Keywordsson preference, immigrants, assimilation

© 2020 Huiqiong Duan, Daniel L. Hicks, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1A

Figure 1B

Figure 2

Figure 3

Son preference among first-generation immigrants from Asia (recent ACS sample)

The acquisition of son preference beliefs over the life cycle

ACS sample summary statistics

Son preference in the United States

Child gender and mother’s marital status

The intergenerational transmission of son preference (recent ACS sample)

Son preference by maternal country of origin

Fertility change regressions in the United States with covariates shown

Marriage patterns

Son preference and parental background

The intergenerational persistence of son preference

Summary statistics

Keywords
son preference, immigrants, assimilation