A Multilevel Analysis of Spatial Variation in Sex Ratio at Birth in China

Chuncui Fan, University of California, Los Angeles
Jenn Lee Smith, University of California, Los Angeles

While it is well known that sex ratio at birth (SRB) in China is high and varies across space, research that analyzes such spatial variations is overly general, often at the provincial level. Previous debates over the causes of spatial variation in SRB paid less attention to the effect of different family planning policies formulated at higher administrative levels and their interactions with local socio-economic and demographic conditions in differentiating SRBs. Combining data from three different sources, this paper uses multilevel models to analyze the spatial variations in SRB within and across different provinces. It focuses on the impacts of institutional context at the provincial level on SRBs of different sub-county population groups in China. Finally, we explore the spatial correlation patterns of SRBs in neighboring locations. Considering spatial dependency effects in a multilevel model yields valuable insights into the unexplained SRBs differentials of sub-county population groups in China.