The Glorified Mothers of Sons: Evidence from Sex Composition and Parental Time Allocation in Rural China

64 Pages Posted: 15 Apr 2022

See all articles by Yi Fan

Yi Fan

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Sustainable & Green Finance Institute (SGFIN)

Junjian Yi

Peking University

Ye Yuan

National University of Singapore (NUS)

Junsen Zhang

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) - Department of Economics

Date Written: April 11, 2016

Abstract

We study the effects of sons versus daughters on parental joint time allocation between thelabor market and the household. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Surveyfrom 1989 to 2006, we apply a fixed-effects model to control for cross-household hetero-geneity in son preference. We find that the birth of sons rather than daughters significantlyreduces maternal time spent on household chores, which we argue represents an increasein maternal intra-household bargaining power. However, the effects of sex composition ofchildren on paternal time allocation and maternal time on labor-market activities are weakor mixed. Results are robust to a series of sensitive analyses.

Keywords: Son preference, sex composition of children, parental time allocation

JEL Classification: C23, J13, J22

Suggested Citation

Fan, Yi and Yi, Junjian and Yuan, Ye and Zhang, Junsen, The Glorified Mothers of Sons: Evidence from Sex Composition and Parental Time Allocation in Rural China (April 11, 2016). Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 145, 2018, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4055723

Yi Fan (Contact Author)

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Sustainable & Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) ( email )

Singapore

Junjian Yi

Peking University ( email )

National School of Development
Peking University
Beijing, Beijing 100871
China

HOME PAGE: http://https://en.nsd.pku.edu.cn/faculty/fulltime/y/520194.htm

Ye Yuan

National University of Singapore (NUS)

1E Kent Ridge Road
NUHS Tower Block Level 7
Singapore, 119228
Singapore

Junsen Zhang

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) - Department of Economics ( email )

Shatin, N.T.
Hong Kong

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