The Quest for a Son: How Control Over Means of Production Increased Demand for Male Offspring in China

Abstract

Previous research has documented that gender equality has deteriorated in former socialist countries. This study employs Engels’ private property-monogamy thesis and discussions in the market transition debate. It aims to examine the impact of economic privatization on the demand for male offspring in China’s post-socialist transition. I argue that private control over means of production gave rise to inheritance issues that were inconceivable in the socialist era and triggered an incentive for people to keep wealth, especially means of production, within the family. In a society with strong patriarchal traditions, the regained desire to practice patrilineal inheritance would increase parents’ fertility preference for sons over daughters. Using a nationally representative longitudinal dataset, I show that private control over means of production increases the probability of having male offspring. Further analysis suggests that while male private business owners fulfill their desire for an heir by having more births, farmers who have obtained lands due to decollectivization not only have more children but also practice sex-selective abortions. My findings explain why the sex ratio at birth has become increasingly skewed in post-socialist China. They also imply a consequence of China’s economic reform — a revival of patrilineal lineage and son preference.

Keywords: Gender Inequality, Patrilineality, Son Preference, Sex Ratio, Market Transition, Post-Socialist Society, China