The Impact of Mother’s Gender Preference on Children’s Cognitive Ability in Indonesia
Abstract
A simple theoretical model predicts that when a mother gives birth to a child of her preferred sex, parents will likely invest more resources in that child, leading to more significant human capital. This bias can result in unequal treatment and opportunities, affecting a child’s long-term development. This study investigates how gender preference influences cognitive ability between sons and daughters in Indonesia. This study utilizes longitudinal data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey 1 and 5, analyzed using the Ordinary Least Square method. The results indicate that daughters whose mothers had a son preference had 0.259 points higher cognitive scores. This finding is attributed to the sample distribution, revealing that daughters of mothers who prefer sons were mainly those without male siblings, allowing them to receive equal input from their parents without competing with boys. The heterogeneity analysis further revealed that daughters from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those living in rural areas and born to less educated mothers, are disproportionately affected by son preference. In conclusion, it appears that children’s family background and sibling composition can significantly impact the disparity in cognitive achievement between sons and daughters.
References
Aurino, E. (2017). Do Boys Eat Better than Girls in India? Longitudinal Evidence on Dietary Diversity and Food Consumption Disparities among Children and Adolescents. Economics & Human Biology, 25, 99–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2016.10.007.
Baker, M., & Milligan, K. (2016). Boy-Girl Differences in Parental Time Investments: Evidence from Three Countries. Journal of Human Capital, 10(4), 1-48. https://doi.org/10.3386/w18893.
Bakken, L., Brown, N., & Downing, B. (2017). Early Childhood Education: The Long-Term Benefits. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 31(2), 255–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/02568543.2016.1273285
Burger, K. (2010). How does Early Childhood Care and Education Affect Cognitive Development? An International Review of the Effects of Early Interventions for Children from Different Social Backgrounds. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(2), 140–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.11.001
Cahan, S., & Cohen, N. (1989). Age Versus Schooling Effects on Intelligence Development. Child Development, 1239–1249. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130797
Ceci, S. J. (1991). How much does Schooling Influence General Intelligence and its Cognitive Components? A Reassessment of the Evidence. Developmental Psychology, 27(5), 703. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.27.5.703
Chowdhury, F. D. (2010). Dowry, Women, and Law in Bangladesh. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 24(2), 198–221. https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebq003
Christensen, D. L., Schieve, L. A., Devine, O., & Drews-Botsch, C. (2014). Socioeconomic Status, Child Enrichment Factors, and Cognitive Performance among Preschool-Age Children: Results from the Follow-Up of Growth and Development Experiences study. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(7), 1789–1801. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2014.02.003
Christian, K., Bachnan, H. J., & Morrison, F. J. (2001). Schooling and cognitive development. In R. J. Sternberg & E. L. Grigorenko (Eds.), Environmental effects on cognitive abilities (pp. 287–335). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Clark, S. (2000). Son Preference and Sex Composition of Children: Evidence from India. Demography, 37(1), 95–108. https://doi.org/10.2307/2648099
Deaton, A. (2003). Health, inequality, and economic development. Journal of Economic Literature, 41(1), 113–158. https://doi.org/10.1257/002205103321544710
Duflo, E. (2005). Gender Equality in Development. BREAD Policy Paper, 11(4).
Ebert, C. L., & Vollmer, S. (2019). Child-Specific Son Preference, Birth Order and Cognitive Skills in Early Childhood. Discussion Papers.
Edlund, L. (1999). Son Preference, Sex Ratios, and Marriage Patterns. Journal of Political Economy, 107(6), 1275–1304. https://doi.org/10.1086/250097.
Hadi, H., Fatimatasari, F., Irwanti, W., Kusuma, C., Alfiana, R. D., Asshiddiqi, M. I., Nugroho, S., Lewis, E. C., & Gittelsohn, J. (2021). Exclusive Breastfeeding Protects Young Children from Stunting in a Low-Income Population: A Study from Eastern Indonesia. In Nutrients, 13(12), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124264.
Hafeez, N., & Quintana-Domeque, C. (2018). Son Preference and Gender-Biased Breastfeeding in Pakistan. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 66(2), 179–215. https://doi.org/10.1086/711761
Heiland, F. (2009). Does the Birth Order Affect the Cognitive Development of a Child? Applied Economics, 41(14), 1799–1818. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840601083220.
Hidayati, T. W., Susilawati, U., & Sriani, E. (2022). Dynamics of Family Fiqh: the Multiple Roles of Women in Realizing Family Resilience. Ijtihad: Jurnal Wacana Hukum Islam Dan Kemanusiaan, 22, 219-238. https://doi.org/10.18326/ijtihad.v22i2.219-238
Hsin, A. (2007). Mothers’ Time with Children and the Social Reproduction of Cognitive Skills. WP, California Center for Population Research Working Paper Series.
Inayatillah, I. (2023). Acehnese Women in Public Spaces: Theirmovement and Political Participation. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 11(1), 117-136. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v11i1.823
Jayachandran, S. (2017). Fertility Decline and Missing Women. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9(1), 118–139. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20150576.
Jayachandran, S., & Kuziemko, I. (2011). Why do Mothers Breastfeed Girls Less than Boys? Evidence and Implications for Child Health in India. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 126(3), 1485–1538. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr029.
Le, K., & Nguyen, M. (2022). Son Preference and Health Disparities in Developing Countries. SSM-Population Health, 17, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101036
Lin, C., Sun, Y., & Xing, C. (2021). Son Preference and Human Capital Investment among China’s Rural-Urban Migrant Households. The Journal of Development Studies, 57(12), 2077–2094. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2021.1961750
Liu, J., Zhou, G., Wang, Y., Ai, Y., Pinto-Martin, J., & Liu, X. (2012). Sleep Problems, Fatigue, and Cognitive Performance in Chinese Kindergarten Children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 161(3), 520–525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.03.018.
Nilsson, A. (2015). Who Suffers from Unemployment? The Role of Health and Skills. IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 4(19), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40173-015-0046-5.
Palloni, G. (2017). Childhood Health and the Wantedness of Male and Female Children. Journal of Development Economics, 126, 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2016.11.005.
Puri, S., Adams, V., Ivey, S., & Nachtigall, R. D. (2011). “There is Such a thing as too Many Daughters, but not too Many Sons”: A Qualitative Study of Son Preference and Fetal Sex Selection among Indian Immigrants in the United States. Social Science and Medicine, 72(7), 1169–1176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.01.027.
Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., & Ou, S.-R. (2010). Preschool Education, Educational Attainment, and Crime Prevention: Contributions of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(8), 1054–1063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.10.019.
Rowe, D. C., Jacobson, K. C., & Van den Oord, E. J. C. G. (1999). Genetic and Environmental Influences on Vocabulary IQ: Parental Education Level as Moderator. Child Development, 70(5), 1151–1162. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00084.
Surya, R.A. & Wijaya, D.N. (2023). Females Roles and Their Social World in Al-Andalus. International Journal of Islamic Thought, 23(1), 91-98. https://doi.org/10.24035/ijit.23.2023.259
Suryadarma, D., Pakpahan, Y. M., & Suryahadi, A. (2008). Comparing the Effects of Parental Death and Chronic Poverty on Children’s Education and Health: Evidence from Indonesia. Chronic Poverty Research Centre Working Paper No. 133, 1–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1537084
Trawick-Smith, J. (2014). The Physical Play and Motor Development of Young Children: A Review of Literature and Implications for Practice. Center for Early Childhood Education, Eastern Connecticut State University. 1-53.
Uthman, I.O. (2022). Women and the Public Space in Muslim Majority Countries and the West. International Journal of Islamic Thought, 22(2), 40-49. https://doi.org/10.24035/ijit.22.2022.238
Zhu, X., Qiu, C., Zeng, Y., & Li, J. (2017). Leisure Activities, Education, and Cognitive Impairment in Chinese Older Adults: A Population-based Longitudinal Study. International Psychogeriatrics, 29(5), 727–739. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610216001769.
Zvoch, K. (1999). Family Type and Investment in Education: A Comparison of Genetic and Stepparent Families. Evolution and Human Behavior, 20(6), 453–464. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-5138(99)00024-0.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: (1) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC-BY-SA) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal; (2) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal; (3) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).