title: Sex preferences and fertility in South Korea during the year of the Horse.
abstract: Since antiquity, people in several East Asian countries, such as China, Japan, and South Korea, have believed that a person is destined to possess specific characteristics according to the sign of the zodiac under which he or she was born. South Koreans, in particular, have traditionally considered that the year of the Horse bears inauspicious implications for the birth of daughters. Using monthly longitudinal data at the region level in South Korea between 1970 and 2003, we found that in the year of the Horse, the sex ratio at birth significantly increased while fertility decreased.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Sam M. Walton College of Business, Business Building 402, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201, USA. jlee@walton.uark.edu
authors.forename: Jungmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Myungho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paik
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D001255:Astrology; D001290:Attitude / Q000208:ethnology*; D002910:Chronology as Topic; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D009229:Mythology; D012306:Risk; D012744:Sex Ratio; D012928:Social Desirability; D013995:Time