WATERING THE NEIGHBOUR'S GARDEN: THE GROWING - CICRED

INTERVENTIONS TO BALANCE SEX RATIO AT BIRTH IN RURAL CHINA
and cultural determinants rather than on the direct cause of
imbalanced sex ratio at birth, such as how foetus sex identification and
sex-selective abortion are practiced in different parts of China.
According to the available literature, the main causes of a high sex
ratio at birth in China are: (1) son preference, which is affected by
various factors, such as local traditions, social and economic status, and
related policies; (2) easily accessible methods for foetus sex
identification; and (3) medical or family planning service capable of
last trimester induced abortions. Consequently, the determinants of
imbalanced sex ratio at birth can be divided into six sets of factors:
social environment, economic development, family needs, individual
opinion, administrative management, and technical capability (Figure
1), which not only play independent roles on sex ratio at birth, but also
interconnect with each other. As the social environment, economic
development, family needs and individual opinion more in favour of
men, where women are under-valued in both community and family,
son preference would be stronger. However, the motivation is usually
not strong enough to break the local regulation (that is, to have one
more baby than the regulation allows). Couples would balance between
the pressures (to have a son), the individual desire and preference, and
the cost. If the cost is too high, there will be preference but no action.
If it is easy to practice foetus sex identification and selection, that is,
where the administrative measures are not strictly enforced and the
technical service is easy to access, couples will be more likely to take
the risk to reach the goal of desired number and sex of children. The
role of each factor will be discussed in more detail later.
Most of the findings presented in this chapter arise from an
application research project funded by UNFPA China and conducted
in 2005. They are based on several methods: (1) literature and
document review and unobtrusive data analysis; (2) fieldwork in a
county of Hebei Province with high sex ratio at birth at second parity, 1
including focus group discussion, observation, home visits and
interviews; and (3) analysis of related policies implementation and
impact.
The research team reviewed and analyzed relevant local statistics
and documents, organized focus group discussions with government
cadres at county and township levels, local civil society organizations,
family planning workers, health service providers and local people, to
1 It is a national phenomenon that sex ratio at birth is normal among babies of first
parity, abnormally higher in second parity, and extremely high in third and higher
parity. However, the number of third parity newborns is very small. There have been
very few cases of third parity in the county we visited.
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