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The Evolutionary Demography of Sex Ratios in Rural Bangladesh

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Applied Evolutionary Anthropology

Part of the book series: Advances in the Evolutionary Analysis of Human Behaviour ((AEAHB,volume 1))

Abstract

In this chapter, we use evolutionary models of sex ratio variation to examine offspring sex ratios in Matlab, Bangladesh, from the 1960s to 2010, during which time sex ratios have shown a decreasing male bias. Evolutionary models lead us to examine particular aspects of family ecology, yielding predictions both unique from and similar to those proposed in the demographic literature. We examine three evolutionary models—the costs of reproduction model, the Trivers–Willard hypothesis, and the local resource competition and enhancement models. Our results support both the Trivers–Willard and local resource competition/enhancement model, but results for the costs of reproduction model are weak. In general, we find that variables associated with higher wealth, status, and engagement in agriculture are linked to more male-biased offspring sex ratios, while higher fertility, older age at marriage, and higher women’s education are associated with less male-biased sex ratios. We also examine how Bangladesh fits into the larger cultural area of South Asia known in the press and policy circles for its high sex ratios. We compare the correlates of sex ratio in Matlab to those in other parts of the region and discuss why sex ratios in Bangladesh are less male biased, despite shared cultural characteristics, such as son preference and dowry, which some argue “cause” high sex ratios in parts of India and Pakistan. We conclude with a discussion of the utility of evolutionary models and offer policy recommendations for the region.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by U.S. National Science Foundation Award No. BCS-0924630, and a Research Leave from the University of Missouri. We would like to thank the ICDDRB, our field assistants (Shifat Khan, Nargis Sultana, Latifun Nahar, Akterun Naher, Lutfa Begum, Mouloda Aziz, and Farhana Akand), and the people of Matlab for their help with this project. Finally, we would like to thank Michelle Fritts for her work on causes of child mortality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, 107 Swallow Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211-1440, USA

    Mary K. Shenk & Kathrine Starkweather

  2. Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, 501 Life Sciences West, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA

    Mary C. Towner

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of California-Davis, 328 Young Hall, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616-8522, USA

    Curtis J. Atkisson

  4. Health and Demographic Surveillance Unit-Dhaka, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, GPO Box 128, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh

    Nurul Alam

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  1. Mary K. Shenk
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Correspondence to Mary K. Shenk .

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  1. University of Bristol Archaeology and Anthropology, Bristol, United Kingdom

    Mhairi A. Gibson

  2. Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom

    David W. Lawson

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Shenk, M., Towner, M., Starkweather, K., Atkisson, C., Alam, N. (2014). The Evolutionary Demography of Sex Ratios in Rural Bangladesh. In: Gibson, M., Lawson, D. (eds) Applied Evolutionary Anthropology. Advances in the Evolutionary Analysis of Human Behaviour, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0280-4_7

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