Does opening up change customs? Evidence from trade liberalization and marriage payments in China

There is widespread concern about whether opening up changes cultural customs. However, empirical evidence remains limited. In this paper, we provide new evidence on this issue by examining the impact of trade liberalization on marriage payment customs in China. We first provide a conceptual framework based on a labor market perspective to illustrate how trade liberalization has driven changes in marriage payment customs. Then, using China's World Trade Organization accession as a quasi‐natural experiment, this paper uses the difference‐in‐differences strategy and China's large‐scale household survey data to conduct an empirical study. Our results suggest that trade liberalization has reduced marriage payments in China, especially the bride price but not the dowry. Evidence from industry and census surveys suggests that the declining earning ability of marriageable men and the increasing relative economic status of women have driven down the bride price from the supply and demand sides, respectively. We also find that the impact of trade liberalization has been concentrated on southern and rural households. In addition to the decline in the bride price, the bad practice of child marriage in China has also been alleviated as a result.