| By: |
Anukriti, S.;
Herrera Almanza, Catalina;
Hossain, Shahadat;
Karra, Mahesh |
| Abstract: |
We document the relationship between son preference and women’s mental health
and well-being using data on mothers-in-law and their co-resident
daughters-in-law from rural India. We leverage exogenous variation in the sex
of the daughter-in-law’s firstborn child to analyze the effect of a firstborn
(grand)son on the (grand)mother’s mental health and the relationship between
the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. Mothers-in-law with firstborn
grandsons experience an 18 percent reduction in the risk of anxiety or
depression compared to mothers-in-law with firstborn granddaughters. We find
no impact of a firstborn son on daughter-in-law mental health. The birth of a
grandson also increases mother-in-law approval of her daughter-in-law working
outside the home and using family planning, as well as the daughter-in-law’s
labor force participation and modern contraceptive use. Our findings highlight
the costs of gender-biased norms and the need for interventions that jointly
address gender equity and mental wellness to improve women’s well-being. |
| Keywords: |
International Development |
| Date: |
2025 |
| URL: |
https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea25:360992 |