title: Old Habits Die Hard? Lingering Son Preference in an Era of Normalizing Sex Ratios at Birth in South Korea.
abstract: South Korea was among the first countries to report both an abnormally high sex ratio at birth (SRB) and its subsequent normalization. We examine the role of son preference in driving fertility intentions during a period of declining SRB and consider the contribution of individual characteristics and broader social context to explaining changes in intentions. We employ data from the National Survey on Fertility, Family Health and Welfare that span 1991-2012. We find that reported son preference declined to a great extent but remained substantial by the end of the observation period, and that the intention to have a third child still differed by sex of existing children. Change in individual-level factors does not explain the decline in son preference, suggesting that broad social changes were also important. This study provides a better understanding of how son preference evolves in the post-transitional context of very low fertility.
authors.affiliation: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria.|Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital, Welthandelsplatz 2 / Level 2, 1020 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Sam Hyun
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3545-5016
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 USA.
authors.forename: Sarah R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Hayford
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 USA.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Agadjanian
keywords: Fertility intention; Korea; Low fertility; Sex ratio at birth; Son preference