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<p>This study examines how fertility decline impacts the gender gap in literacy and numeracy test scores. Drawing on Becker’s Q-Q trade-off model, we propose that in societies with strong son preference, the trade-off is larger for daughters than for sons. As a result, an exogenous reduction in fertility benefits girls more than boys. Lower fertility also increases the chance that girls grow up in single-sex families, thereby raising their share of human capital investment. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find that one fewer sibling reduces the gender gap in numeracy and literacy by 22.4% and 19.6% of a standard deviation, respectively, in rural China. The effect is stronger in areas with pronounced son preference.</p>

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Fertility, son preference, and the disappearing gender gap in literacy/numeracy tests

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月25日

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  • Minhee Chae,
  • Xin Meng,
  • Sen Xue

摘要

This study examines how fertility decline impacts the gender gap in literacy and numeracy test scores. Drawing on Becker’s Q-Q trade-off model, we propose that in societies with strong son preference, the trade-off is larger for daughters than for sons. As a result, an exogenous reduction in fertility benefits girls more than boys. Lower fertility also increases the chance that girls grow up in single-sex families, thereby raising their share of human capital investment. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find that one fewer sibling reduces the gender gap in numeracy and literacy by 22.4% and 19.6% of a standard deviation, respectively, in rural China. The effect is stronger in areas with pronounced son preference.