Higher Education Expansion and Gender Norms: Evidence from China

Si, W. Higher education expansion and gender norms: evidence from China. J Popul Econ (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-022-00888-z

ShanghaiTech SEM Working Paper No. 2019-006

37 Pages Posted: 10 Dec 2019 Last revised: 25 Apr 2022

See all articles by Wei Si

Wei Si

School of Entrepreneurship and Management, ShanghaiTech University

Date Written: December 6, 2019

Abstract

This paper explores whether the expansion of higher education can influence attitudes regarding gender norms. I evaluate the impact of China’s higher education expansion since 1999. The results show that the reform has significantly increased higher educational attainment for both women and men. However, women’s progressive views on gender roles are negatively affected following the expansion. The erosion of women’s egalitarian ideology can be attributed to the findings that women’s opportunities in the labor market are worsening relative to those of men. The results are significantly driven by married women and people who live in areas with a high male-to-female sex ratio. Practical conditions in the labor market and at home may adversely affect women’s ability to fulfill egalitarian gender roles.

Keywords: Higher education expansion, Gender-role attitudes, Gender inequality, Labor market, Marriage market

JEL Classification: I23, J16

Suggested Citation

Si, Wei, Higher Education Expansion and Gender Norms: Evidence from China (December 6, 2019). Si, W. Higher education expansion and gender norms: evidence from China. J Popul Econ (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-022-00888-z, ShanghaiTech SEM Working Paper No. 2019-006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3499450 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3499450

Wei Si (Contact Author)

School of Entrepreneurship and Management, ShanghaiTech University ( email )

393 Middle Huaxia Road, Pudong
Shanghai, 201210
China

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
159
Abstract Views
1,210
Rank
336,369
PlumX Metrics