1/5 Adoptive parents prefer girls over boys by a BIG margin. The...
Richard V. Reeves@RichardvReeves
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May 25, 2026
~1 min read
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1/5 Adoptive parents prefer girls over boys by a BIG margin. The difference is equivalent to being willing to pay $20k more for a girl than boy, according to this (2010/2014) paper from @mariag_baccara @LYariv et al. aeaweb.org/articles?id=10…
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2/5 The preference for girls is much more intense among same-sex couples - whether male or female, interestingly. I'd love to know more about why male gay couples in particular have some a strong preference for adopting a girl. Any ideas out there?
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3/5 But the race gap is even bigger: specifically the strong preference to NOT adopt a Black child, that's equivalent to being willing to pay $38k more for a non-Black child.
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4/5 The combined effects mean that Black boys are right at the bottom; the gender gap is biggest here, with Black girls TWICE as likely to receive a application for adoption as a Black boy.
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5/5 This is not only a reminder of the need to invest in our foster care system & make adoption easier and cheaper, but also the need to consider differences in outcomes and trends by both gender AND race; a key goal of the new Institute on boys and men: ofboysandmen.substack.com/p/some-news-i-…