Parents’ absence harms norm obedience of girls more than boys

We study how parental absence impacts children's norm obedience. Due to the prevalence of migrant labor in China, 61 million Chinese children have been “left behind,” with one or both parents absent from the home. Using a nationally representative sample of secondary school students, we find that rural “left-behind” girls exhibit norm disobedience at a higher rate than other girls or boys. They are more likely to cheat in school, use offensive language, and display anti-social behavior. We further find that being cared for by grandparents exacerbates the “left-behind” effect in rural girls, but not in other groups. This indicates that the son preference in rural China's older generation may leave rural “left behind” girls in disadvantaged situations. This finding is relevant for policy choices in developing countries, particularly to advancing and empowering women.