- Language: English
- May 11, 2023, 4:00 pm (HK time)
- Enquiry: cqhmail@hku.hk
ABSTRACT
Where do gender norms that favour men come from? While the status of women in India has its origins in part in son preference, the proposed explanations of son preference in the literature, such as cultivation of rice and wheat and women’s participation in these activities are often poor predictors of sex ratios (Fenske, Gupta, and Neumann, 2022).
In this Quantitative History Webinar, Bishnupriya Gupta of the University of Warwick will present her latest research using pre-colonial conflict exposure for each district of modern India and several data sources on the status of women, including colonial and modern censuses, Demographic and Health Surveys, and data on crimes against women. Bishnupriya and her team find that conditional on geographic controls and state-fixed effects, greater pre-colonial conflict predicts: More male-biased sex ratios, in particular among “other backward class” Hindus today and more missing women in the population in 2011. They also find more crimes against women in recent administrative data. Conflict exposure predicts lower female shares in 1931. They argue that the mechanism is old and operates throughout the life cycle. They confirm these results using an instrument based on proximity to the Khyber Pass, “the most important highway to India”. The results survive controlling for centuries of foreign conquest, direct rule, language, and religion.
Bishnupriya’s co-authors: This study is based on joint work with Mark Dincecco (Michigan), James Fenske (Warwick) and Anil Menon (Cornell)
Discussant: Heng Chen (HKU Business School)
ABOUT THE QUANTITATIVE HISTORY WEBINAR SERIES
The Quantitative History (QH) Webinar Series aims to provide researchers, teachers, and students with an online intellectual platform to keep up to date with the latest research in the field, promoting the dissemination of research findings and interdisciplinary use of quantitative methods in historical research. The QH Webinar Series, now entering its fourth year, is co-organized by Centre for Quantitative History at the HKU Business School and International Society for Quantitative History in partnership with Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Series is now substantially supported by the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. [AoE/B-704/22-R]).
Conveners: Professor Zhiwu Chen & Dr. Chicheng Ma (HKU Business School)
ORGANIZER
This event is co-organized by the International Society for Quantitative History, HKU Business School, and Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Light refreshments will be served for registered participants attending the seminar in person.
