The abnormally high sex ratio at birth (SRB) is a demographic outcome that appears in several countries in Asia and Africa and results from sex-based discrimination. Whether or not neonatal discrimination was a widespread response to socioeconomic demands during the demographic transition in Europe remains an open question. To address this concern, this paper exploits the exogenous increase in the cost of child rearing caused by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Using random discontinuity techniques, a sharp and statistically significant increase in SRB appears with the war. This finding provides an opportunity to examine a challenging concern: whether neonatal discrimination fosters or reduces the discrimination suffered by girls in childhood. To examine the multiplier effects of discrimination, the paper investigates the potential role that women’s bargaining power could play in preventing the functioning of the transmission mechanism. To that end, the paper exploits historical geographical differences in women’s bargaining power that were inherent to the predominant kinship system in Spanish provinces (stem vs. nuclear). The results show that an increase of one standard deviation in the interaction term between gender and SRB led, on average, to a 9% points increase in under-five mortality in nuclear provinces. However, this positive relationship is not found in stem provinces, where women had greater bargaining power. The paper points out that policies aimed at creating a more egalitarian legal framework may fail if they are not accompanied by actions aimed at affecting beliefs and preferences for equality in society.

出生时性别比异常高（SRB）是一种人口统计结果，出现在亚洲和非洲的几个国家，并且是基于性别的歧视造成的。在欧洲人口转变期间，新生儿歧视是否是对社会经济需求的普遍反应仍是一个悬而未决的问题。为了解决这个问题，本文利用了西班牙内战（1936年至1939年）爆发引起的儿童抚养费用的外生性增长。使用随机不连续性技术，战争导致SRB出现急剧且统计上显着的增加。这一发现提供了一个机会来研究一个具有挑战性的问题：新生儿歧视是助长还是减少了女童在童年时遭受的歧视。为了研究歧视的乘数效应，本文探讨了女性的议价能力在阻止传递机制发挥作用方面的潜在作用。为此，本文探讨了西班牙各省主要亲属制度固有的妇女议价能力的历史地理差异（干式与核式）。结果表明，性别与SRB之间相互作用项的标准偏差平均增加了，导致核省五岁以下儿童死亡率增加了9％。但是，在干部省份中没有这种积极的关系，在干部省份中，妇女具有更大的议价能力。该文件指出，旨在建立一个更加平等的法律框架的政策，如果不采取旨在影响社会平等观念和偏好的行动，就可能失败。