Understanding the driving forces of prenatal sex-selection in Southern Caucasus
Principal Investigator: Sonja Vogt
The selective abortion of females has led countries in the Southern Caucasus to have highly skewed sex ratios at birth. However, the social and cultural forces driving this behaviour are not clear. This lab-in-the-field study aims to elicit preferences for sons within nuclear families as well as using incentivised methods to measure the perceived causes for the practice among men and women. This will help us learn not only how the decision to abort is made within the family, but also whether the key components underlying sex-biased abortions are cultural or economic in nature. In a second step, the project will develop evidence-based communication interventions in order to improve the value of the girl child.