On the Cultural Transmission of Son Preference
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/vkf3ej08Keywords:
Son Preference, Cultural Transmission, Social Norm.Abstract
This paper studies the cultural transmission of son preference. We first develop a Bisin-Verdier model where son-preferring and gender-neutral traits compete. We show that parental socialization efforts lead to a stable poly- morphic equilibrium where both attitudes coexist, explaining the trait’s per- sistence. The long-run prevalence of son preference depends on the relative utility parents derive from transmitting their values. We then extend the analysis to a three-trait system including daughter preference, using an evo- lutionary game framework. This extension reveals a mechanism for cultural polarization. If intolerance between the extreme son and daughter prefer- ences is high relative to intolerance for the neutral view, the moderate trait is driven to extinction, polarizing the population. Conversely, sufficiently high intolerance for the neutral view allows all three traits to coexist. The model thus formalizes how cultural norms can either persist in heterogeneous states or collapse into polarized opposition.
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