The impact of son preference on fertility behavior in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Numerous studies have examined the sources, consequences, and manifestation of son preference in fertility behavior. A large proportion of these studies have focused on low fertility settings in East Asia, and especially in the skewed sex ratios of birth resulting from the practice of sex selective abortion. This paper examines the impact of son preference on individual fertility behavior in a high fertility setting, the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).Many studies have noted the persistently high fertility rates in the oPt and have connected it to conflict. However, some anecdotal evidence exists for the impact of son preference on fertility behavior, where women are more likely to continue having children until they’ve reached the desired number of sons. This paper aims to examine the role son preference and sex distribution of current children play in fertility behavior in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), both in terms of timing of fertility and progression to subsequent parity levels using data from birth history calendars from a national health survey conducted in 2006. Parity-specific event history analysis was conducted. The results of this study show that after accounting for socio-demographic characteristics, women with a greater number of sons are less likely to have another child, irrespective of parity.