Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2016.35.47
Title: 'Motherhood penalty' and 'fatherhood premium'? Fertility effects on parents in China.
Authors: Mu, Zheng 
Xie, Yu
Keywords: J1
Z0
China
fatherhood
gender
instrumental variables
labor market outcome
motherhood
one-child family policy
subjective well-being
time use
Issue Date: 2016
Publisher: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Citation: Mu, Zheng, Xie, Yu (2016). 'Motherhood penalty' and 'fatherhood premium'? Fertility effects on parents in China.. Demogr Res 35 (47) : 1373-1410. ScholarBank@NUS Repository. https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2016.35.47
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Many previous empirical findings on 'motherhood penalty' and 'fatherhood premium' remain inconclusive due to potential selection biases. China's regional variation in exemptions to the one-child policy enables us to use the gender of the first child as a powerful instrumental variable (IV) in identifying the gendered fertility effects. OBJECTIVE: We aim to estimate the causal effects of fertility on fathers' and mothers' various outcomes in China. METHODS: Using the IV approach, this paper examines the gender-specific fertility effects on parents' time use, income, and subjective well-being, using data for 2010 from the China Family Panel Studies. RESULTS: Results show that while fathers spend more time at work and less time taking care of family members with more children, mothers report better subjective well-being. Moreover, fathers gain self-confidence in both their careers and the future, and mothers are happier, more satisfied with life and report better social ability. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not directly support the gendered fertility effects on parents. However, the differential fertility effects on specific domains for mothers versus fathers are consistent with household specialisation. By interpreting this conclusion within the context of China's one-child family planning policy, our research suggests that parents would do better if the one-child policy were abolished - i.e., if parents were allowed to have more children.
Source Title: Demogr Res
URI: https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/246317
ISSN: 1435-9871
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2016.35.47
Appears in Collections:Elements
Staff Publications

Show full item record
Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormatAccess SettingsVersion 
Motherhood penalty and fatherhood premium Fertility effects on parents in China.pdf456.3 kBAdobe PDF

OPEN

Post-printView/Download

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.