Son preference is rooted in the kinship norms of several East European and Asian countries. In these contexts, couples have historically implemented different strategies to satisfy their compelling need for a son. Technological advancements brought discrimination to a prenatal stage: revealing the sex of the fetus, ultrasound examinations allowed to avoid the birth of unwanted daughters through pregnancy termination. Sex selective abortions have become common practice in several countries, leading to a veritable distortion of sex ratios at birth.

Countries affected by a masculinization of births vary in their cultural, historical and socio-economic background. Paradoxically, sex selective abortions may persists in countries where reproductive rights, living standards and women empowerment have substantially improved over the last decades. The present research explores the hypothesis that son preference, and the ensuing fertility behaviors, are influenced by social security patterns. This contention is grounded on the role of care and financial assistance providers that sons fulfill to their parents in male-biased family arrangement, making them perceived, arguably, as “insurances” to their family.