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The Great Expectations: Impact of One-Child Policy on Education of Girls

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  • Huang, Wei

    (National University of Singapore)

  • Lei, Xiaoyan

    (Peking University)

  • Sun, Ang

    (Central University of Finance and Economics)

Abstract

The rise in education of women relative to men is an emerging worldwide phenomenon in recent decades. This paper investigates the impact of the birth control policies on teenage girls' education attainment. The estimates suggest that the policies explain 30 percent of the education increase for women born in 1945-1980 and 50 percent of the gender gap narrowing in China. Further analysis provides some suggestive evidence for potential mechanisms, including the policy-induced expectations for labor and marriage market and subjective attitudes on children and gender-equality. These findings highlight the role of fertility policies in women's empowerment of last century.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Wei & Lei, Xiaoyan & Sun, Ang, 2015. "The Great Expectations: Impact of One-Child Policy on Education of Girls," IZA Discussion Papers 9301, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9301
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Yishen Liu & Yao Pan, 2016. "Less restrictive birth control, less education? Evidence from ethnic minorities in China," WIDER Working Paper Series 077, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Pan, Yao & Liu, Yishen, 2021. "Birth control, family size and educational stratification: Evidence from the Han and ethnic minorities in China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Lu, Di, 2018. "China’s Selective Two-Child Policy and Its Impact on the Marriage Market," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181586, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Yijie Wang & Yanan Zhang, 2022. "“As Good as a Boy†But Still a Girl: Gender Equity Within the Context of China’s One-Child Policy," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    5. Huang, Yana & Wang, Tianyu, 2022. "MULAN in the name: Causes and consequences of gendered Chinese names," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    6. Yishen Liu & Yao Pan, 2016. "Less restrictive birth control, less education?: Evidence from ethnic minorities in China," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-77, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    One-Child Policy; education of girls; expectation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • 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
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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