Gender Preferences for Children and Gender Relations in Contemporary China

This study aims to investigate and compare the determinants of gender preference for children in rural and urban China under the values of children to parents (VOC) approach by focusing on the effects of attitudes to elder care and gender roles, and the attainment of insurance programs. Using pooled cross-sectional data from 2013 and 2015 of the Chinese General Social Surveys, we found that rural individuals expecting children responsible for old-age support exhibit daughter preference, followed by balance preference, whereas their urban counterparts show similar son preference and daughter preference. In addition, balance preference is associated with traditional gender role attitudes among rural individuals but correlated with more equal gender attitudes among urbanites. Furthermore, having more economic security decreases rural individuals’ preferences for having more daughters. The findings suggest that the prevalent balance preference and the rising preference for daughters have quite different implications on the gender relationship between rural and urban China, and traditionalism still drives gender preference in rural China. Policy implications are also discussed.