Son Preference in Vietnam

Abstract

This article assesses the strength of son preference in Vietnam, as reflected in fertility behavior. It formulates and estimates a proportional hazards model applied to birth intervals, and a contraceptive prevalence model, using household survey data from 2,636 ever-married women aged 15-49 with at least one living child who were interviewed for the Vietnam Living Standards Survey 1992-1993. Son preference is found to be strong by world standards, but nevertheless, it has a minor effect on fertility; in its absence, the total fertility rate would fall by roughly 10 percent from the current level of about 3.2 children per woman of reproductive age.

Analysis of socio-political and health practices influencing sex ratio at birth in Viet Nam

“…Son preference strongly influences fertility decisions. 27 Producing a son reflects on the value of the wife in the eyes of the family and society. Vietnamese women use a range of strategies to secure a son, including traditional folk methods thought to facilitate male contraception, continuing childbearing until a son is born, adopting a male child and terminating female fetuses.…”

Gender Preferences in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Fertility Choices

“…E.g. in China (Tu, 1991), in Bangladesh (Rahman & DaVanzo., 1993), in the Chinese population of Malaysia (Pong, 1994), in Vietnam (Haughton & Haughton, 1995), in India (Arnold, Choe, & Roy., 1998), in South Korea (Larsen, Chung, & Gupta, 1998), and in Taiwan (Tsay & Chu, 2005). find no evidence of gender preferences among non-users ; for them, we cannot tell whether they have no preferences or are not able to translate them into fertility choices.…”

The Relationship of Family Size and Composition To Fertility Desires, Contraceptive Adoption and Method Choice in South Asia

“…On the one hand, some studies have found that son preference is associated with a larger ideal family size 17 and discourages women of lower parities from using contraceptives, which in turn acts as a barrier to reducing fertility. 33 On the other hand, data from the Matlab Demographic Surveillance System revealed no evidence that son preference influences contraceptive use in Bangladesh, 22 and studies have found only minor to modest effects on contraceptive use and fertility in Vietnam 34 and Nepal. 23 The authors of the Nepalese study estimated that contraceptive use would increase by only 8% and fertility would decrease by just 6% in the absence of son preference.…”