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Son preference, children’s gender and parents’ time allocation: evidence from China

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  • Shiyu Bo

Abstract

This article investigates the effect of children’s gender on parents’ time allocation in developing countries due to the long-existing tradition of son preference. A collective model generates predictions concerning the impact of the birth of sons on family behaviour when son preference is treated as a premium in the father’s utility function. Using data from China, I show that, with more sons instead of daughters, the time spent by both men and women on housework rises, while men have to increase their work time in the labour market and women can reduce theirs. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions and are robust for use in further tests. For the possible endogeneity of children’s gender, I use the law forbidding the use of ultrasound-B to reveal the gender of a foetus as instrumental variables as the identification strategy.

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  • Shiyu Bo, 2018. "Son preference, children’s gender and parents’ time allocation: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(45), pages 4830-4846, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:50:y:2018:i:45:p:4830-4846
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2018.1467555
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    Cited by:

    1. Chae, Minhee & Meng, Xin & Xue, Sen, 2023. "Fertility, Son-Preference, and the Reversal of the Gender Gap in Literacy/Numeracy Tests," IZA Discussion Papers 16208, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Yongqing Dong & Quheng Deng & Shaoping Li, 2022. "The Health Inequality of Children in China: A Regression-Based Decomposition Analysis," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(1), pages 137-159, February.
    3. Nobuyuki NAKAMURA & Aya SUZUKI, 2023. "Impact of foreign domestic workers on the fertility decision of households: evidence from Hong Kong," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(1), pages 105-135, March.
    4. Wang, Sophie Xuefei & Bansak, Cynthia, 2022. "Are Grandparents a Good Substitute for Parents as the Primary Caregiver? The Impact of Grandparents on Children's Academic Performance," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1100, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Wang, Sophie Xuefei & Bansak, Cynthia, 2024. "Are grandparents a good substitute for parents as the primary caregiver? The impact of grandparents on Children's academic performance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    6. Zhang, Guanglai & Yu, Yanni, 2023. "Preventing a new baby: Impact of air pollution on fertility intention," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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