Social Differences in Sex Preference for Children in France

Laurent Toulemon, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Arnaud Régnier-Loilier, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

Sex preferences for children are known to influence fertility behaviors. In France as in many developed countries, there is a marked preference for having at least one boy and one girl. The aim of this paper is Twofold. First, to check that no disequilibrium in the sex ratio at birth or in the sex structure of siblings is appearing in France. Second, to use the effect of sex composition of siblings on the progression to a next child to reveal sex preferences for children, and to describe the social contrasts in these preferences in France; preliminary analyses show that these preferences are different from one social group to the next. We will use two large data sources: French civil registration data, and a one-percent survey conducted within the 1999 General population census, and including a fertility history of 235,000 women and 145,000 men.