(wl-5742)-Daughter Deficit: Insights from NFHS-5 Data in Assam

Since Amartya Sen examined the 'missing women' problem (Sen, 1992), the survival of women has gained heightened attention as a developmental challenge, focusing on overall sex ratios and skewed birth sex ratios. Despite the considerable attention this topic has received globally, there remains a significant gap in the literature regarding the state of Assam. Conventionally, the northeastern region of India is perceived as comparatively advanced in gender-related developmental outcomes, leading to an expectation that Assam would demonstrate favourable conditions regarding the survival and status of women. This paper employs district-level data sourced from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) 4 (2015-16) and NFHS 5 (2019-21), along with unit-level data from NFHS 5 (2019-21), to undertake an examination of this presumption. The analysis reveals notable district-level variations in the sex ratio at birth. Furthermore, using logistic regression analysis on the unit-level data, this study quantitatively assesses the impact of various factors on the likelihood of women expressing a desire to cease childbearing. The results indicate that the probability of women opting not to have more children increases with the number of sons among their living offspring.