Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/319160 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of Population Economics [ISSN:] 1432-1475 [Volume:] 38 [Issue:] 1 [Article No.:] 32 [Publisher:] Springer Berlin Heidelberg [Place:] Berlin/Heidelberg [Year:] 2025
Publisher: 
Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin/Heidelberg
Abstract: 
Abstract This study examines the unintended consequences of the Janani Suraksha Yojana, a conditional cash transfer program in India, on prenatal sex-selective behaviour within a son-preference culture. This program unintentionally altered existing trends in prenatal sex selection through its simultaneous provision of cash incentives to households and community health workers as well as access to prenatal sex detection technology such as ultrasound scans. Using difference-in-differences and triple difference estimators we find that the program causes an increase in the likelihood of female births. Furthermore, we observe a rise in under-5 mortality for girls born at higher birth orders, suggesting a shift in discrimination against girls from prenatal to postnatal. Our calculations suggest that the net impact was approximately 300,000 girls surviving in treated states between 2006 and 2015. Finally, we find suggestive evidence that the involvement of community health workers in facilitating the program is a key driver of this trend. Overall, this study sheds light on the complex interplay between policy interventions, cultural norms, and gender disparities in shaping demographic outcomes.
Subjects: 
Prenatal sex selection
Missing girls
Sex-selective abortions
Community health workers
Janani Suraksha Yojana
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Additional Information: 
J13;J16;J18
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version
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