1 CHILD GENDER AND PARENTAL INVESTMENTS IN INDIA: ARE BOYS AND GIRLS TREATED DIFFERENTLY?*

Abstract: There is considerable debate in the literature as to whether boys and girls are treated differently in India. But son-biased stopping rules imply that previous estimates are likely to be biased. We propose a novel identification strategy to properly identify the effects of child gender on parental investments. Using data from a time use survey we document gender differences in childcare time which have not been studied before in developing countries. We find that boys receive on average 10 % more time than girls. They are also more likely to be breastfed for longer, given vaccinations and vitamin supplementation. I