Sex Ratio and Religion in Vietnam

We examine whether the probability of having a boy aged below 5 years in households and communes is associated with religious individuals in Vietnam using data from the 1999 Population and Housing Census (on 76 million people) and 2007 Establishment Census (on religious establishments). Our results show low probability of having a boy aged below 5 years among religious households. Moreover, using Vietnam’s 1955–1974 North-South division that resulted in different religious developments, we apply a commune-level instrumental-variable approach. From this analysis, we find a higher serious follower ratio associated with a lower boy ratio within communes and certain non-believer communities