| dc.description.abstract | Preference for a son has deep historical roots in India and is evident in its highly skewed sex ratios.
The country has recently been on the news often for heinous rape incidences. It registered a 27
percent annual growth rate in crime against women in 2013. The economic theory indicates that
the scarcity of girls should make the girls dearer to society, but the reality is the opposite in India.
It creates the puzzle that, despite scarcity, India still does not value their women. Instead, the
statistics show that crime against women is increasing faster than the overall crime. Therefore, it
becomes interesting to explore the puzzle and to examine whether this coincidence of pro-male
biased sex ratios and higher crime on women bears any empirical relationship in the case of India.
The paper uses data from Census and National Crime Records Bureau for the analysis. The district-
year panel analysis found a significant negative relation between sex ratios and crime against
women. It is found that an increase in 1 female in the population of 1000 males, that is, a 1 unit
increase in the youth sex ratio in favor of females, will decrease the crime against women by 0.53
percent, keeping other things the same. Further, it is also found that the impact of sex ratios is
highest on domestic violence, followed by kidnapping compared to other crimes against women. | en_US |
