Gender imbalances in history: causes, consequences and social adjustment

Abstract

This article surveys the causes, consequences and social adjustments of gender-imbalanced populations. Though recent studies emphasize the role of medical technology in creating gender imbalances, historical and biological evidence shows that they have deeper and more tangled roots. Female-selective abortion, sperm sorting and other innovations are essentially new wrinkles in a very old social problem. How past societies struggled with and rectified gender imbalances offers insight into how contemporary and future societies might do so--and into the price they will pay if they ignore the problem.