Were there missing girls in Biscay?sex ratios in Northern Spain, 1550-1899

  1. Elena Catalán Martínez 1
  1. 1 Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU
Revista:
Investigaciones de Historia Económica = Economic History Research

ISSN: 1698-6989

Año de publicación: 2023

Volumen: 19

Número: 3

Páginas: 13-24

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.33231/J.IHE.2023.03.004 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: Investigaciones de Historia Económica = Economic History Research

Resumen

This paper seeks to contribute to the knowledge of sex ratios at birth, their long-term evolution, and their determinants, on a sound documentary base of almost one million records between 1550 and 1890. The region studied likewise offers the advantage of being industrialised at the end of the observation period, which allows relevant conclusions to be drawn about the effect of modern economic growth on family decisions regarding their offspring. The main conclusions include the preference for males in the rural world, favoured by the inheritance regime and the scarce ecclesiastical regulation in this territory, while the city levels were similar to those of other European cities. From the 18th century onwards, a stability around the reference values in all areas could be observed and which was only broken by the economic and social changes during industrialisation.

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Fuente de los datos: Dialnet