Striking for Marriage: Migration, Sex Ratio And Labor Conflict in China

54 Pages Posted: 20 Jul 2024

See all articles by Cheng Yawen

Cheng Yawen

Peking University

Dongmin Kong

School of Economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Chenhao Liu

Peking University - Guanghua School of Management

Wenxu Ye

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen - School of Management and Economics

Abstract

This paper documents that marriage competition among migrant workers provokes labor strikes in China, combining datasets of 9,296 strikes, migrant networks, and the sex ratio of migrants' origins. Our triple-differences design exploits a temporal variation introduced by the Chinese Lunar New Year (CLNY), a period of marriage-seeking urgency among returning migrants, to address their self-selection into host city. We find that migrant workers facing high versus low marriage competition significantly escalates strike occurrences during the CLNY, with a one-percent point sex ratio increase leading to 4.18% additional strikes. Mechanism analysis shows that the skewed sex ratio, and resultant bride shortage, motivates migrants to improve marriage prospects by acquiring houses as status goods. This investment reduces their tolerance for wage arrears, sparking collective actions like protests and sit-ins, especially in the construction industry. Further research indicates that lifting settlement restrictions expands migrants' marriage market, counteracting the impact of their origin.

Keywords: migrants, strikes, collective action, sex ratio

Suggested Citation

Yawen, Cheng and Kong, Dongmin and Liu, Chenhao and Ye, Wenxu, Striking for Marriage: Migration, Sex Ratio And Labor Conflict in China. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4900172 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4900172

Cheng Yawen

Peking University ( email )

No. 38 Xueyuan Road
Haidian District
Beijing, 100871
China

Dongmin Kong (Contact Author)

School of Economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology ( email )

Bldg. of Econ. School, Louyu Rd. 1037#
HUST, Hongshan Dist.
Wuhan, Hubei 430074
China

Chenhao Liu

Peking University - Guanghua School of Management ( email )

Wenxu Ye

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen - School of Management and Economics ( email )

2001 Longxiang Road, Longgang District
Shenzhen, 518172
China

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