The working paper can be found here: cepr.org/publications...
@cepr.org @warwickecon.bsky.social @econ.uzh.ch
Carmen Villa
(3/9) Sex, Lies and Birth Statistics by Manuel Bagues, @carmenvillaecon.bsky.social
Evidence of inconsistencies in Spanish birth data sheds light on missing women in official statistics.
www.rfberlin.com/wp-content/u...
According to official birth registry data, in 1981 Spain had the highest sex ratio in the world (109 boys per 100 girls). Prior work attributed this anomaly to demographic/behavioural patterns. In a new WP, we show the high ratio is due to data errors 🧵with Manuel Bagues 1/n
The registry also shows implausible variation in sex ratios at the province and month level. The outliers are not normally distributed but consistent with one-directional miscoding of females as males 3/n
Our findings highlight the responsibility of statistical agencies to cross-validate and, where necessary, flag known data errors to prevent misinterpretation by researchers. The Spanish women were never missing, but are an artefact of processing errors at INE 5/n
Provisional birth statistics for the same period show ratios within plausible values. Additional evidence in support of data errors explaining the high ratio come from missing values in the micro-data, which suggest the corruption of the sex field affected other variables 4/n
📖💰Can paying disadvantaged teenagers keep them in formal education? 📖💰
In England, 30£/week didn't bring long run benefits. Other policies (part-time edu, traineeships...) might better suit some pupils. New blog summary linked below.
@theifs.bsky.social @iza.org wol.iza.org/opinions/whe...
The official birth registry data show very large sex ratios in Spain from 1975 until approximately 2000 (normal rates are 105-106). Evidence of the registry being wrong comes from comparing it to the census. The differences remain after account for mortality/migration 2/n
También hemos escrito un blog en español, que podéis leer aquí. Mil gracias al equipo de @nadaesgratis.bsky.social nadaesgratis.es/bagues/el-mi...
Official Spanish birth registry data report sex ratios well above expected levels between 1975 and 2000, peaking at 109 boys per 100 girls in the early 1980s, the highest in the world at that time. Pr...
