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Description:
Relying on longitudinal micro data from 13 Spanish rural villages between 1800 and 1910, this paper assesses whether discriminatory practices affected fertility and sex-specific mortality during infancy and childhood during economic crises in an area with a strong preference for sons. Our contribution is twofold. On the one hand, there is a connection between shortterm economic stress, fertility, and sex ratios at baptism: high-price years were followed by a decline in the number of registered baptisms and by an increase of the sex ratios at baptism. These results therefore suggest that families mortally neglected a significant fraction of their female babies during economic crises. On the other hand, there is a connection between shortterm economic stress, mortality, and sex ratios at death. Using death registers further supports this interpretation, since our evidence shows that the female biological advantage was not visible after an economic shock. In addition, gender discriminatory practices against girls during bad years seem to have compensated the male vulnerability at older ages as well.