Relative income within households, gender identity, and entrepreneurship

Previous literature has well documented the effect of relative income within households on marital satisfaction and housework distribution, but whether and how it affects men’s labor behavior remains unknown. Using data from Chinese General Social Survey, this study finds that: (1) In couples where the wife earns less than the husband, an increase in the wife’s relative income inhibits the husband’s entrepreneurship, while in couples where the wife earns more than the husband, an increase in the wife’s relative income promotes the husband’s entrepreneurship. (2) The traditional gender concept of “men lead outside, women lead inside” provides a good explanation for our findings. Gender identity distorts not only women’s but also men’s behavior. (3) Men in rural areas, those with less education and those with short-term marriages are more sensitive to gender identity.