Human Reproduction, Vol. 18, No. 9, 1972-1975,
September 2003
© 2003 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Sex ratios in the two Germanies: a test of the economic stress hypothesis
University of California at Berkeley, School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA e-mail: rayc{at}uclink4.berkeley.edu
BACKGROUND: Literature describing temporal variation in the secondary sex ratio among humans reports an association between population stressors and declines in the odds of male birth. Explanations of this phenomenon draw on reports that stressed females spontaneously abort male more than female fetuses, and that stressed males exhibit reduced sperm motility. This work has led to the argument that population stress induced by a declining economy reduces the human sex ratio. No direct test of this hypothesis appears in the literature. Here, a test is offered based on a comparison of the sex ratio in East and West Germany for the years 1946 to 1999. The theory suggests that the East German sex ratio should be lower in 1991, when East Germany’s economy collapsed, than expected from its own history and from the sex ratio in West Germany. METHODS: The hypothesis is tested using time-series modelling methods. RESULTS: The data support the hypothesis. The sex ratio in East Germany was at its lowest in 1991. CONCLUSION: This first direct test supports the hypothesis that economic decline reduces the human sex ratio.
Key words: economic decline/human sex ratio/unemployment
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  O. V. Martin, J. N. Lester, N. Voulvoulis, and A. R. Boobis Human Health and Endocrine Disruption: A Simple Multicriteria Framework for the Qualitative Assessment of End Point Specific Risks in a Context of Scientific Uncertainty Toxicol. Sci., August 1, 2007; 98(2): 332 - 347. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. S Dubois, E Dale Kennedy, and T. Getty Surplus nest boxes and the potential for polygyny affect clutch size and offspring sex ratio in house wrens Proc R Soc B, July 22, 2006; 273(1595): 1751 - 1757. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Catalano and T. Bruckner Secondary sex ratios and male lifespan: Damaged or culled cohorts PNAS, January 31, 2006; 103(5): 1639 - 1643. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Smith and J. V. Behren Trends in the sex ratio of California births, 1960-1996 J Epidemiol Community Health, December 1, 2005; 59(12): 1047 - 1053. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 O. Polasek, I. Kolcic, B. Kolaric, and I. Rudan Sex ratio at birth and war in Croatia (1991-1995) Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2005; 20(9): 2489 - 2491. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Catalano, T. Bruckner, E. Anderson, and J. B Gould Fetal death sex ratios: a test of the economic stress hypothesis Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2005; 34(4): 944 - 948. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Perret Relationship between urinary estrogen levels before conception and sex ratio at birth in a primate, the gray mouse lemur Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2005; 20(6): 1504 - 1510. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. H. Jongbloet Influences of maternal weight on the secondary sex ratio of human offspring Hum. Reprod., October 1, 2004; 19(10): 2425 - 2425. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Cagnacci Reply to 'Influences of maternal weight on the secondary sex ratio of human offspring' Hum. Reprod., October 1, 2004; 19(10): 2425 - 2426. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Zorn Second reply to 'A further note on the sex ratios of births conceived during wartime' Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2004; 19(6): 1496 - 1496. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|