Son Preference, Gender Discrimination, and Missing Girls in Rural Spain, 1750-1950

Relying on longitudinal microdata from a Spanish rural region between 1750 and 1950 (almost 35,000 life courses), this article provides evidence that discriminatory practices affected sex-specific mortality during infancy and childhood. Although it is likely that families also discriminated against girls during the first year of life, female excess mortality was especially visible in the 1-5 age group. While breastfeeding seems to have temporarily mitigated the effects of gender discrimination, sex-specific mortality rates behaved very differently once children were weaned. Parents, therefore, prioritized boys during infancy and childhood in the allocation of food and/or care in order to enhance their survival chances.