IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v47y2018icp116-141.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Women hold up half the sky? Gender identity and the wife's labor market performance in China

Author

Listed:
  • Ye, Bing
  • Zhao, Yucong

Abstract

In this paper, we empirically study the impact of gender identity on the wife's labor supply in China where a high female employment rate and a large population that has a traditional gender identity coexist. We find that the wife's gender identity affects her labor force participation for all cohorts, and the wife's gender identity affects earnings only for rural cohorts. The impact of gender identity varies among generational, regional, and educational cohorts. Husbands still guide their wives, i.e., a husband's gender identity affects his wife's labor force participation and earnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Ye, Bing & Zhao, Yucong, 2018. "Women hold up half the sky? Gender identity and the wife's labor market performance in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 116-141.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:47:y:2018:i:c:p:116-141
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2017.08.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X17301074
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2017.08.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bertrand, Marianne, 2011. "New Perspectives on Gender," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 17, pages 1543-1590, Elsevier.
    2. Francine Blau & Lawrence Kahn & Albert Liu & Kerry Papps, 2013. "The transmission of women’s fertility, human capital, and work orientation across immigrant generations," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 405-435, April.
    3. Lídia Farré & Francis Vella, 2013. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Role Attitudes and its Implications for Female Labour Force Participation," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(318), pages 219-247, April.
    4. Alberto Alesina & Paola Giuliano & Nathan Nunn, 2013. "On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(2), pages 469-530.
    5. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
    6. Wieber, Anna & Holst, Elke, 2015. "Gender Identity and Women's Supply of Labor and Non-Market Work: Panel Data Evidence for Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 9471, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    8. Alessandra Fogli & Raquel Fernandez, 2009. "Culture: An Empirical Investigation of Beliefs, Work, and Fertility," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 146-177, January.
    9. Marianne Bertrand & Emir Kamenica & Jessica Pan, 2015. "Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 571-614.
    10. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2006. "Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 23-48, Spring.
    11. Raquel Fernandez, 2007. "Women, Work, and Culture," NBER Working Papers 12888, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Guiso, Luigi & Sapienza, Paola & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "People's opium? Religion and economic attitudes," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 225-282, January.
    13. Pamela Campa & Alessandra Casarico & Paola Profeta, 2011. "Gender Culture and Gender Gap in Employment," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 57(1), pages 156-182, March.
    14. Francesco Giavazzi & Fabio Schiantarelli & Michel Serafinelli, 2013. "Attitudes, Policies, And Work," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(6), pages 1256-1289, December.
    15. Fernández, Raquel, 2007. "Women, Work and Culture," CEPR Discussion Papers 6153, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Junsen Zhang & Jun Han & Pak-Wai Liu & Yaohui Zhao, 2008. "Trends in the Gender Earnings Differential in Urban China, 1988–2004," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(2), pages 224-243, January.
    17. Nicole M Fortin, 2005. "Gender Role Attitudes and the Labour-market Outcomes of Women across OECD Countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 21(3), pages 416-438, Autumn.
    18. Majlesi, Kaveh, 2016. "Labor market opportunities and women's decision making power within households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 34-47.
    19. Rainald Borck, 2014. "Adieu Rabenmutter—culture, fertility, female labour supply, the gender wage gap and childcare," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 739-765, July.
    20. Edwin van Gameren & Ingrid Ooms, 2009. "Childcare and labor force participation in the Netherlands: the importance of attitudes and opinions," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 395-421, December.
    21. Guo, Qian & Song, Yang & Sun, Wenkai & Wang, Yijie, 2016. "Gender differences in performance-based pay: Evidence from a Chinese University," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 104-113.
    22. Michele McLennan, 2000. "Does household labour impact market wages?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(12), pages 1541-1557.
    23. repec:bla:econom:v:61:y:1994:i:242:p:191-211 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Raquel Fernández, 2007. "Alfred Marshall Lecture Women, Work, and Culture," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(2-3), pages 305-332, 04-05.
    25. Raquel Fernández & Alessandra Fogli & Claudia Olivetti, 2004. "Mothers and Sons: Preference Formation and Female Labor Force Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(4), pages 1249-1299.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Haiming & Liang, Quanxi & Ling, Leng, 2022. "Underrepresentation of female CEOs in China: The role of culture, market forces, and foreign experience of directors," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    2. Zhao, Yucong & Ye, Bing & Shi, Jinchuan, 2022. "Gender identity, preference, and relative income within households," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Shi, Xinjie & Huangfu, Bingyu & Jin, Songqing & Gao, Xuwen, 2024. "Property rights, labor reallocation, and gender inequality in rural China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 325-342.
    4. Bellani, Luna & Hidalgo-Hidalgo, Marisa, 2023. "Educate Some to Represent Many? Education and Female Political Representation in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 16539, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Wenyuan Liu & Ting Ren, 2021. "Family ties and employment behavior: The role of financial intermediaries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 48-75, February.
    6. Wei Si, 2022. "Higher education expansion and gender norms: evidence from China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1821-1858, October.
    7. repec:ags:aaea22:335534 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Wang, Ruiyu & Shi, Jinchuan & Ye, Bing, 2022. "Can robots reshape gender role attitudes?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    9. Wei Wang & Shengbo Zhang, 2022. "The Impact of Internet Use on Rural Women’s Off-Farm Work Participation: Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    10. Mengling Zhang & Zhenlin Weng & Zhaojiu Chen & Feng Wu, 2022. "Land Endowment and Parental Educational Investment in Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-14, April.
    11. Huang, Yana & Wang, Tianyu, 2022. "MULAN in the name: Causes and consequences of gendered Chinese names," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    12. Cheng, Yawen & Sheng, Yan, 2023. "Relative income within households, gender identity, and entrepreneurship," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 90-108.
    13. Xiaodong Sun & Kaisheng Lai & Hong Han & Chenyan Yang, 2023. "Could Children’s Gender Predict Their Parents’ Housework Behavior?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
    14. Kang, Yankun & Liang, Shuyuan & Bai, Caiquan & Feng, Chen, 2020. "Labor contracts and parents’ educational expectations for children: Income effect or expected effect?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    15. Fang, Guanfu & Zhu, Ying, 2022. "Long-term impacts of school nutrition: Evidence from China’s school meal reform," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    16. Huichao Du & Yun Xiao & Liqiu Zhao, 2021. "Education and gender role attitudes," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 475-513, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhao, Yucong & Ye, Bing & Shi, Jinchuan, 2022. "Gender identity, preference, and relative income within households," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    2. Cavapozzi, Danilo & Francesconi, Marco & Nicoletti, Cheti, 2021. "The impact of gender role norms on mothers’ labor supply," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 113-134.
    3. Francesconi, Marco & Nicoletti, Cheti & Cavapozzi, Danilo, 2021. "The Impact of Gender Role Norms on Mothers’ Labor Supply," CEPR Discussion Papers 15957, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Rainald Borck, 2014. "Adieu Rabenmutter—culture, fertility, female labour supply, the gender wage gap and childcare," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(3), pages 739-765, July.
    5. Claudia Olivetti & Eleonora Patacchini & Yves Zenou, 2020. "Mothers, Peers, and Gender-Role Identity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 266-301.
    6. Barigozzi, Francesca & Cremer, Helmuth & Roeder, Kerstin, 2018. "Women's career choices, social norms and child care policies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 162-173.
    7. Rainald Borck, 2011. "Adieu Rabenmutter - The Effect of Culture on Fertility, Female Labour Supply, the Gender Wage Gap and Childcare," CESifo Working Paper Series 3337, CESifo.
    8. Guiso, Luigi & Zaccaria, Luana, 2023. "From patriarchy to partnership: Gender equality and household finance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(3), pages 573-595.
    9. Huichao Du & Yun Xiao & Liqiu Zhao, 2021. "Education and gender role attitudes," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 475-513, April.
    10. Simon Rabaté & Sara Rellstab, 2022. "What Determines the Child Penalty in the Netherlands? The Role of Policy and Norms," De Economist, Springer, vol. 170(2), pages 195-229, May.
    11. Davis, Lewis S. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2019. "Does individualism promote gender equality?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Jessen, Jonas, 2022. "Culture, children and couple gender inequality," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    13. Cavapozzi, Danilo & Francesconi, Marco & Nicoletti, Cheti, 2024. "Dividing Housework between Partners: Individual Preferences and Social Norms," IZA Discussion Papers 17370, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Bozzano, Monica, 2017. "On the historical roots of women's empowerment across Italian provinces: religion or family culture?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 24-46.
    15. Boelmann, Barbara & Raute, Anna & Schönberg, Uta, 2020. "Wind of Change? Cultural Determinants of Maternal Labor Supply," IAB-Discussion Paper 202030, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    16. Rivera-Garrido, Noelia, 2022. "Can education reduce traditional gender role attitudes?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    17. Maria Knoth Humlum & Anne Brink Nandrup & Nina Smith, 2019. "Closing or reproducing the gender gap? Parental transmission, social norms and education choice," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(2), pages 455-500, April.
    18. Ichino, Andrea & Olsson, Martin & Petrongolo, Barbara & Skogman Thoursie, Peter, 2019. "Economic Incentives, Childcare and Gender Identity Norms," Working Paper Series 1283, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 04 May 2021.
    19. Andrea Ichino & Martin Olsson & Barbara Petrongolo & Peter Skogman Thoursie, 2019. "Economic incentives, home production and gender identity norms," CEP Discussion Papers dp1626, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    20. Shelly Lundberg, 2023. "Gender Economics: Dead-Ends and New Opportunities," Research in Labor Economics, in: 50th Celebratory Volume, volume 50, pages 151-189, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender identity; Wife's labor force participation; Earnings; Marriage; Urban-rural;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:47:y:2018:i:c:p:116-141. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.