| This thesis presents three self-contained essays focusing on issues in development economics. The first and second chapters are solely authored. The third chapter is co-authored with Professors Anne Case and Christina Paxson and was published in the Journal of Health Economics [2008. "The income gradient in children's health: a comment on Currie, Shields and Wheatley Price," 27(3), 801--807].;The first chapter examines the use of sex ratio at birth and gender gap in education as indicators of son preference. Using a direct measure of son preference, I find that a high sex ratio at birth is a good indicator of son preference. However, changes in sex ratio at birth could be attributed to changes in son preference or changes in technology. I also find that gender gap in education is not a good indicator of son preference. Furthermore, I find no evidence that prenatal sex-selection reduces postnatal discrimination in education.;The second chapter examines explanations for the narrowing of the gender gap in education in Korea. I find that female employment opportunities and the Gender-Equal Employment Act are the most relevant explanations for the narrowing of the gender gap, while women's increased access to universities had a smaller effect. I find no evidence that establishing virtual universities or a reduction in son preference explain the narrowing of the gender gap. Lastly, I have no data to test the effect of reduced fertility.;The third chapter re-examines differences found between income gradients in American and English children's health, in results originally presented by Case, Lubotsky, and Paxson [2002. "Economic status and health in childhood: the origins of the gradient," The American Economic Review, 92(5), 1308--1334] for the US, and by Currie, Shields, and Wheatley Price [2007. "The child health/family income gradient: evidence from England," Journal of Health Economics, 26(2), 213--232] for England. We find that these differences are reduced when English and American data from the same time period are compared. Our results also indicate that income plays a larger role in buffering children's health from the effects of chronic conditions in England. |
