[dmix]

> the fundamental problem is a deep-seated cultural preference for boys

Not simply a cultural preference but a rational economic one as the odds a man will earn more than women has quite the better odds, and given their circumstances (and motivation to improve them) people are willing to compromise on the matter. Which is not simply the result of some conspiratorial patriarchal cultural phenomenon (although I'm sure that plays a role as it has elsewhere) but rather something amplified in developing countries where low tech labour and farm jobs are more common than knowledge/service work, favouring the physical attributes of men.

[ChoGGi]

Also no dowry needed for male children.

[8note]

in countries with so many men and so few women, I imagine that will switch

[kiliantics]

Actually in China the tradition is that the groom gives money to the family of the bride

[bwb]

Might not be true, check out the book factory girls. Men stay on the farm and do not earn, woman to the city and make way more.

[dmix]

That doesn't change this equation. China no longer needs the one child policy likewise the benefits of male offspring have diminished because the developing country has moved away from largely labour/farm jobs to mechanized factories and various supporting industries in urban environments where brute strength is no longer the deciding favour.

The changing economic incentives will address the gender inbalances faster than some government child policy or cultural/ideological shift...