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The Labor Supply Consequences of Having a Boy in China

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  • Shing-Yi Wang

Abstract

Combining eight years of panel data with an event study approach, we show that rural Chinese women's labor supply falls for one year following the birth of a daughter before returning to their pre-birth levels. The negative impact of the birth of a son on women's labor supply is much larger in magnitude and persists for four years. We also find that households reduce their cigarette consumption more following the arrival of a boy than a girl. Furthermore, there is an increase in the mother's probability of being in school, her leisure time, and her participation in household decision-making following the birth of boys relative to daughters. There is no evidence of increases in investments in boys that would be complementary to mothers' time, such as breastfeeding, immunizations or consumption of milk or meat. Together, these results are consistent with the idea that mothers are rewarded for giving birth to boys, leading them to have more leisure and work less.

Suggested Citation

  • Shing-Yi Wang, 2019. "The Labor Supply Consequences of Having a Boy in China," NBER Working Papers 26185, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26185
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Xiaoyan Lei & John Strauss & Meng Tian & Yaohui Zhao, 2011. "Living Arrangements of the Elderly in China Evidence from CHARLS," Working Papers WR-866, RAND Corporation.
    2. Fletcher, Erin K. & Pande, Rohini & Moore, Charity Troyer, 2019. "Women and Work in India: Descriptive Evidence and a Review of Potential Policies," India Policy Forum, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 15(1), pages 149-216.
    3. Claudia Goldin, 1994. "The U-Shaped Female Labor Force Function in Economic Development and Economic History," NBER Working Papers 4707, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Avinash Kishore & Dean Spears, 2014. "Having a Son Promotes Clean Cooking Fuel Use in Urban India: Women's Status and Son Preference," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(4), pages 673-699.
    5. Daniel Rosenblum, 2013. "The effect of fertility decisions on excess female mortality in India," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(1), pages 147-180, January.
    6. 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.
    7. Pham-Kanter, Genevieve, 2010. "The Gender Weight Gap: Sons, Daughters, and Maternal Weight," MPRA Paper 28997, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Meng, Lingsheng & Zhang, Yunbin & Zou, Ben, 2023. "The motherhood penalty in China: Magnitudes, trends, and the role of grandparenting," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 105-132.
    2. Huang, Zibin & Jiang, Xu & Sun, Ang, 2024. "Fertility and delayed migration: How son preference protects young girls against mother–child separation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    3. Roland Pongou, 2020. "Is Excess (Fe)Male Mortality Caused by the Prenatal Environment, Child Biology, or Parental Discrimination? New Evidence from Male-Female Twins," Working Papers 2008E Classification-I15,, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    4. Wu, Xiaoyu, 2022. "Fertility and maternal labor supply: Evidence from the new two-child policies in urban China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 584-598.
    5. Ande Shen & Jiwei Zhou, 2024. "Education Opportunities for Rural Areas: Evidence from China's Higher Education Expansion," Papers 2408.12915, arXiv.org.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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