Mitigation of Son Preference in Early Childhood Intrahousehold Allocation
RCTClinical Trial
In contexts with strong son preference, households allocate disproportionate food, medical care, and health resources to young boys, leading to chronic malnutrition, lower BMI, and higher early mortality rates for young girls.
Picture this
Think of a household with a limited food budget that traditionally gives the largest portions of protein to boys because they are seen as future financial supporters. When parents realize that girls will also bring back substantial income as adults, they begin plating equal food portions for their daughters.
What the evidence says
The treatment increased girls' BMI-for-age z-score by 0.24 standard deviations (p < 0.01), whereas boys' BMI-for-age z-score showed no significant change (0.08 standard deviations, p > 0.10), significantly narrowing the intrahousehold nutritional gap.
- Who was studied
- Girls and boys aged 5–15 across 160 rural villages measured for height and weight.
- How
- Randomized evaluation measuring anthropometric BMI-for-age z-scores normalized against WHO international standards.
What to do
Increase economic returns to adult female labor to combat male-biased resource distribution within households during early childhood.
From the source
"The effect of the recruiting treatment on BMI-for-age z-scores is positive and statistically significant at the 1 percent level for girls... In contrast, there is no effect of the treatment on the BMI of boys."
517 labor market opportunities QJE April '12.pdf