In this paper, I examine the relationship between patrilocal norms that dictate elderly coresidence between parents and sons, and the sex ratio at birth. I argue that concerns over old age support are critical in explaining excess mortality among daughters. First, I demonstrate that sex ratios...

This study examines the historical origins of son preference. I test a hypothesis that son preference emerges from humanity’s adoption of intensive agriculture for subsistence. This increases the incentive to adopt patrilocal residence norms after marriage, and for sons to care for their...

Recent scholarship has documented an alarming increase in the sex ratio at birth in parts of East Asia, South Asia and the South Caucuses. I argue that parents engage in sex selection because of patrilocal norms that dictate elderly coresidence between parents and sons. Sex ratios and...