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What Do Parents Want? Parental Spousal Preferences in China

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Listed:
  • Eva Raiber

    (AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Weiwei Ren

    (Yunnan Normal University)

  • Jeanne Bovet

    (University of Northumbria at Newcastle [United Kingdom])

  • Paul Seabright

    (TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, IAST - Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse)

  • Charlotte Wang

    (IPAG Business School)

Abstract

In many societies, parents are involved in selecting a spouse for their child, and integrate this with decisions about migration and educational investment. What type of spouse do parents want for their children? We estimate parents' spousal preferences based on survey choices between random profiles. Preference data are elicited from parents or other relatives who actively search for a spouse on behalf of their adult child in Kunming, China. Economic variables (income and real estate ownership) are important for the choice of sons-in-law, but not daughters-in-law. Education is valued on both sides. We simulate marriage outcomes based on preferences for age and education and compare them with marriage patterns in the general population. Homogamy by education can be explained by parental preferences, but not by age: parents prefer younger wives, yet most couples are the same age. Additionally collected preference data from students can explain age distributions. Survey data from parents suggest that while they prefer younger wives, they also accept wives of the same age. Overall, marriage markets have a likely positive influence on education investments for both boys and girls.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva Raiber & Weiwei Ren & Jeanne Bovet & Paul Seabright & Charlotte Wang, 2021. "What Do Parents Want? Parental Spousal Preferences in China," Working Papers halshs-03202334, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-03202334
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03202334
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage; Preference estimation; China; Parental matchmaking; Matching;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General

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