Working Paper: NBER ID: w28830
Authors: Zhibo Tan; Shangjin Wei; Xiaobo Zhang
Abstract: We examine an indirect but potentially deadly consequence of the “missing girls” phenomenon. A shortage of brides causes many parents with sons of marriageable age to work harder and seek higher-paying but potentially dangerous jobs. In response, employers invest less in workplace safety, which in turn increases work-related mortality. Drawing from a broad range of data sets and taking advantage of large regional and temporal variations in sex ratios in China, we demonstrate that in areas with a more severe shortage of young women, the parents with unmarried sons suffer a significantly higher incidence of accidental injuries and workplace deaths.
Keywords: gender discrimination; missing girls; workplace safety; sex ratios; accidental deaths
JEL Codes: J16; O1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| sex ratio imbalance (J79) | workplace mortality (J28) |
| sex ratio imbalance (J79) | risk-taking behavior (D91) |
| risk-taking behavior (D91) | workplace mortality (J28) |
| sex ratio imbalance (J79) | employer investment in safety (J28) |
| employer investment in safety (J28) | workplace mortality (J28) |