IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v74y2022ics1043951x22000633.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Patrilineality, fertility, and women's income: Evidence from family lineage in China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Lin

Abstract

This study investigates how traditional patrilineal family institution influences women's income through fertility behavior by offering evidence from family lineage (zongzu) in China. We hypothesize that family with strong lineage—proxied by owning genealogy—has a negative effect on women's income through the son-targeting fertility behavior. Using a difference-in-differences strategy, this study confirms the hypothesis. Relative to the women whose first child is a son, the women marring into families owning genealogy indeed have more children and lower income, if their first child is a daughter. In contrast, such finding does not hold for the male sample. Preliminary evidence suggests that shorter work time can explain the findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Lin, 2022. "Patrilineality, fertility, and women's income: Evidence from family lineage in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:74:y:2022:i:c:s1043951x22000633
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2022.101805
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X22000633
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2022.101805?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. Menghan Zhao & Yang Zhang, 2019. "Parental childcare support, sibship status and mothers’ second-child plans in urban China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(47), pages 1315-1346.
    2. Yuyu Chen & Hongbin Li & Lingsheng Meng, 2013. "Prenatal Sex Selection and Missing Girls in China: Evidence from the Diffusion of Diagnostic Ultrasound," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(1), pages 36-70.
    3. Eliana La Ferrara & Annamaria Milazzo, 2017. "Customary Norms, Inheritance, and Human Capital: Evidence from a Reform of the Matrilineal System in Ghana," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 166-185, October.
    4. Junsen Zhang, 2017. "The Evolution of China's One-Child Policy and Its Effects on Family Outcomes," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 141-160, Winter.
    5. Greif, Avner & Tabellini, Guido, 2017. "The clan and the corporation: Sustaining cooperation in China and Europe," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 1-35.
    6. Bertocchi, Graziella & Bozzano, Monica, 2016. "Women, medieval commerce, and the education gender gap," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 496-521.
    7. Uri Gneezy & Kenneth L. Leonard & John A. List, 2009. "Gender Differences in Competition: Evidence From a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(5), pages 1637-1664, September.
    8. Lixing Li & Xiaoyu Wu, 2011. "Gender of Children, Bargaining Power, and Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in China," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(2), pages 295-316.
    9. Deborah J. Anderson & Melissa Binder & Kate Krause, 2002. "The Motherhood Wage Penalty: Which Mothers Pay It and Why?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 354-358, May.
    10. Ting Chen & James Kai-sing Kung & Chicheng Ma, 2020. "Long Live Keju! The Persistent Effects of China’s Civil Examination System," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(631), pages 2030-2064.
    11. William Lavely, 2001. "First Impressions from the 2000 Census of China," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 27(4), pages 755-769, December.
    12. Steffen Andersen & Seda Ertac & Uri Gneezy & John A. List & Sandra Maximiano, 2013. "Gender, Competitiveness, and Socialization at a Young Age: Evidence From a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1438-1443, October.
    13. Eva Garcia-Moran & Zoe Kuehn, 2017. "With Strings Attached: Grandparent-Provided Child Care and Female Labor Market Outcomes," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 23, pages 80-98, January.
    14. 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.
    15. Seema Jayachandran, 2015. "The Roots of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 63-88, August.
    16. Zhang, Chuanchuan, 2020. "Clans, entrepreneurship, and development of the private sector in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 100-123.
    17. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 181-209, October.
    18. Casper Hansen & Peter Jensen & Christian Skovsgaard, 2015. "Modern gender roles and agricultural history: the Neolithic inheritance," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 365-404, December.
    19. Li, Wenchao, 2021. "The “miseries” of sex imbalance: Evidence using subjective well-being data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    20. Robinson, Amanda Lea & Gottlieb, Jessica, 2021. "How to Close the Gender Gap in Political Participation: Lessons from Matrilineal Societies in Africa," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 68-92, January.
    21. Wenchao Li & Changcheng Song & Shu Xu & Junjian Yi, 2022. "High Sex Ratios and Household Portfolio Choice in China," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(2), pages 465-490.
    22. Philip H. Brown, 2009. "Dowry and Intrahousehold Bargaining: Evidence from China," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(1).
    23. Siwan Anderson, 2007. "The Economics of Dowry and Brideprice," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(4), pages 151-174, Fall.
    24. Srinivasan, Sharada & Bedi, Arjun S., 2007. "Domestic Violence and Dowry: Evidence from a South Indian Village," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 857-880, May.
    25. You, Jing & Yi, Xuejie & Chen, Meng, 2021. "Love, life, and “leftover ladies” in urban China: Staying modernly single in patriarchal traditions," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    26. Chuanchuan Zhang, 2019. "Family support or social support? The role of clan culture," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(2), pages 529-549, April.
    27. Zhang, Chuanchuan & Li, Tao, 2017. "Culture, fertility and the socioeconomic status of women," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 279-288.
    28. Avner Greif & Guido Tabellini, 2010. "Cultural and Institutional Bifurcation: China and Europe Compared," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 135-140, May.
    29. Deepankar Basu & Robert Jong, 2010. "Son targeting fertility behavior: Some consequences and determinants," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(2), pages 521-536, May.
    30. Gong, Binglin & Yang, Chun-Lei, 2012. "Gender differences in risk attitudes: Field experiments on the matrilineal Mosuo and the patriarchal Yi," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 59-65.
    31. Rachel Murphy & Ran Tao & Xi Lu, 2011. "Son Preference in Rural China: Patrilineal Families and Socioeconomic Change," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 37(4), pages 665-690, December.
    32. Anning Hu & Felicia Tian, 2018. "Still under the ancestors' shadow? Ancestor worship and family formation in contemporary China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(1), pages 1-26.
    33. Eastman, Lloyd E., 1989. "Family, Fields, and Ancestors: Constancy and Change in China's Social and Economic History, 1550-1949," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195052701.
    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. Maomin Jiang & Zhengyu Wu & Binbin He & Aixian Tu & Yibo Wu, 2022. "Effect of Work–Family Conflict on Three-Child Fertility Intention of Working Women of Reproductive Age under the Background of Active Reproductive Support: The Moderating and Mediating Effects of Anxi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-14, November.
    2. Wang, Lixia & Liu, Haiyun, 2024. "Quota removal, gender-specific export shock, and female labor force participation in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).

    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. Lowes, Sara, 2021. "Kinship structure, stress, and the gender gap in competition," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 36-57.
    2. Siwan Anderson & Chris Bidner, 2021. "An Institutional Perspective on the Economics of the Family," Discussion Papers dp21-14, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    3. Ang, Geer & Tan, Ya & Zhai, Yingjia & Zhang, Fan & Zhang, Qinghua, 2024. "Housing wealth, fertility and children's health in China: A regression discontinuity design," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Ulugbek Aminjonov & Olivier Bargain & Maira Colacce & Luca Tiberti, 2022. "Culture, Intra-household Distribution and Individual Poverty," Working Papers - Economics wp2022_21.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    5. Tang, Can & Zhao, Zhong, 2022. "Informal institution meets child development," MERIT Working Papers 2022-032, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    6. Huang, Liangxiong & Ma, Minghui & Wang, Xianbin, 2022. "Clan culture and risk-taking of Chinese enterprises," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. Tang, Can & Zhao, Zhong, 2023. "Informal institution meets child development: Clan culture and child labor in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 277-294.
    8. Bau, Natalie, 2019. "Can Policy Change Culture? Government Pension Plans and Traditional Kinship Practices," CEPR Discussion Papers 13486, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Giuliano, Paola, 2017. "Gender: An Historical Perspective," CEPR Discussion Papers 12183, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Schwieren, Christiane & Klonner, Stefan & Pal, Sumantra, 2020. "Equality of the Sexes and Gender Differences in Competition: Evidence from Three Traditional Societies," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224523, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    11. Izumi, Yutaro & Park, Sangyoon & Yang, Hyunjoo, 2023. "The effects of South Korean Protestantism on human capital and female empowerment, 1930–2010," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 422-438.
    12. Qiu, Tongwei & Li, Yifei & Shi, Xinjie & Peng, Changyan & Luo, Biliang, 2024. "Alternative modes of governance: Clans and social instability in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    13. Brodeur, Abel & Mabeu, Marie Christelle & Pongou, Roland, 2020. "Ancestral Norms, Legal Origins, and Female Empowerment," IZA Discussion Papers 13105, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Patricia Cortés & Gizem Koşar & Jessica Pan & Basit Zafar, 2022. "Should Mothers Work? How Perceptions of the Social Norm Affect Individual Attitudes Toward Work in the U.S," NBER Working Papers 30606, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Rao, Ziwei & Zhang, Yi, 2024. "Rely on children or work longer? The impact of fertility and child gender on old-age labor supply," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    16. Cheng, Jiameng & Dai, Yanke & Lin, Shu & Ye, Haichun, 2021. "Clan culture and family ownership concentration: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. Cao, Jiarui & Xu, Yiqing & Zhang, Chuanchuan, 2022. "Clans and calamity: How social capital saved lives during China's Great Famine," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    18. Xue, Melanie Meng, 2018. "High-Value Work and the Rise of Women: The Cotton Revolution and Gender Equality in China," MPRA Paper 91100, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Calvi, Rossella & Keskar, Ajinkya, 2021. "Dowries, resource allocation, and poverty," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 268-303.
    20. Bjorvatn, Kjetil & Falch, Ranveig & Hernæs, Ulrikke, 2016. "Gender, context and competition: Experimental evidence from rural and urban Uganda," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 31-37.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Patrilineality; Lineage; Fertility; Gender inequality; One-child policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

    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:74:y:2022:i:c:s1043951x22000633. 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.